Abstract
There are differences in the character of surface-based and elevated convection, and one type may pose a greater threat to life or property. The lightning and rainfall characteristics of eight elevated and eight surface-based thunderstorm cases that occurred between 2007 and 2010 over the central Continental United States were tested for statistical differences. Only events that produced heavy rain (>50.8 mm·day−1) were investigated. The nonparametric Mann–Whitney test was used to determine if the characteristics of elevated thunderstorm events were significantly different than the surface based events. Observations taken from these cases include: rainfall–lightning ratios (RLR) within the heavy rain area, the extent of the heavy rainfall area, cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning flashes, CG flashes·h−1, positive CG flashes, positive CG flashes·h−1, percentage of positive CG flashes within the heavy rainfall area, and maximum and mean rainfall amounts within the heavy rain area. Results show that elevated convection cases produced more rainfall, total CG lightning flashes, and positive CG lightning flashes than surface based thunderstorms. More available moisture and storm morphology explain these differences, suggesting elevated convection is a greater lightning and heavy rainfall threat than surface based convection.
Highlights
Research into elevated convection has been ongoing for many years
Statistics were calculated separately for each thunderstorm type: rainfall–lightning ratios (RLR) within the heavy rain area, the extent of the heavy rainfall area, cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning flashes, CG lightning per hour, positive CG flashes, positive CG flashed per hour, percentage of positive CG flashes within the heavy rainfall area, and maximum and mean rainfall amounts within the heavy rain area were calculated for each category of thunderstorm
This study aims to investigate environmental and observed differences between elevated thunderstorms and surface based thunderstorms that produced heavy rain and sheds light on some thunderstorms
Summary
Research into elevated convection has been ongoing for many years. Elevated thunderstorm complexes are often associated with heavy rain and can lead to flash flooding [3,4,5]. Surface based thunderstorms produce heavy rain and flash flooding. This study aims to investigate the observed differences in the mesoscale environment between elevated thunderstorms and surface based thunderstorms that produced heavy rain. The environmental differences will be explored using both plan-view and sounding composites of elevated and surface based convection. Observational differences will be examined in rainfall–lightning ratios (RLR) within the heavy rain area, the extent of the heavy rainfall area, cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning flashes, CG flashes per hour, positive CG flashes, positive CG flashes per hour, percentage of positive
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