Modeling the Neuruppin ball lightning incident

Abstract

In 1994, a 370-kA positive cloud-to-ground (CG) discharge 5 km east of Neuruppin, Germany was immediately followed by the production of at least ten ball lightning objects seen by numerous eyewitnesses. We propose a sequence of events based on observations of upward lightning triggered by CG flashes which can explain how a large ground-level electric field (∼1 MV m−1) could be produced by negative leaders extending into a region of positive charge above Neuruppin, resulting in transfer of a large amount of charge horizontally between the CG discharge and the region of high electric field. This model provides a causal link between the large CG discharge east of Neuruppin and the large ground-level fields which were associated with the production of ball lightning. Recommendations follow for producing ball lightning in a large laboratory experiment.