Abstract
AbstractLightning statistics are analysed downwind of forest fires in 1998 and 2000. The previously studied 1998 case shows anomalously high frequencies of positive cloud‐to‐ground lightning (+CG%) in the southern Great Plains region of the USA, coincident with the smoke plume from forest fires in Central America. Fires in the northwestern USA in summer 2000 produced a smoke pall commensurate with the 1998 fires, but were not accompanied by statistically significant lightning anomalies. Analyses of meteorological data reveal that the southern Great Plains region was abnormally dry and hot during the period of anomalous lightning in 1998.Using a 1.5‐dimensional thunderstorm model on a day with high +CG%, 15 May 1998, we find that whereas the percentage of positive cloud‐to‐ground lightning did not change significantly with changes in cloud condensation nuclei, adding moisture to the model significantly decreases the percentage of positive cloud‐to‐ground lightning, making it closer to the climatological norm. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society
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