Nowcasting Thunderstorm Anvil Clouds over Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

Abstract

Abstract Electrified thunderstorm anvil clouds extend the threat of natural and triggered lightning to space launch and landing operations far beyond the immediate vicinity of thunderstorm cells. The deep convective updrafts of thunderstorms transport large amounts of water vapor, supercooled water droplets, and ice crystals into the upper troposphere, forming anvil clouds, which are then carried downstream by the prevailing winds in the anvil-formation layer. Electrified anvil clouds have been observed over the space launch and landing facilities of the John F. Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), emanating from thunderstorm activity more than 200 km away. Space launch commit criteria and flight rules require launch and landing vehicles to avoid penetration of the nontransparent portion of anvil clouds. The life cycles of 163 anvil clouds over the Florida peninsula and its coastal waters were documented using Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-8 visible...