Surface electrostatic field below weak precipitation and stratiform regions of mid-latitude storms

Abstract

The electrostatic field is measured below thunderstorms at two sites in south-western France thanks to a field mill. It is recorded with a 1-s time resolution, simultaneously to the precipitation current measured with a specific sensor. The variations of both parameters are analyzed for two cases out of three storms considered in the study. Cloud-to-Ground (CG) lightning data from Météorage network and scans from a C-band radar included in the French network ARAMIS are used to characterize the storms. The magnitude of the electrostatic field can reach large values below the weak precipitation regions compared to the convective regions: between 5 and 6kVm−1, and between 2 and 3kVm−1, respectively. The field polarity is commonly negative (downward field) but it can reverse as the rainfall carries positive charge to the ground. So, the mirror effect is generally observed between the electrostatic field and the precipitation current. The electrostatic field magnitude can indicate the presence of large amounts of charge within the weak precipitation region above, although the lightning ground strokes remain relatively far. The fast field variations produced by CG flashes are analyzed. A strong dissymmetry for both CG polarities is observed: the +CG flashes can produce larger field discontinuities (~10kVm−1) even when their striking points are at about a distance of 40km from the sensor, while the −CG flashes produce discontinuities lower than 4kVm−1 even when the striking points are within 4km around the sensor. This indicates that either the charge removed by a +CG flash can be horizontally displaced with respect to the ground stroke location, or it can be much larger compared to that removed by a negative CG flash. Our observations suggest the surface electrostatic field measured below these regions may provide valuable information for estimating local lightning risk.