Thunderstorm days over Argentina: Integration between human observations of thunder and the world wide lightning location network lightning data

Abstract

AbstractStorms are one of nature's most dangerous phenomena; therefore, knowing their spatial distribution and evolution over time is of great interest for the protection of society, as well as for climate change adaptation strategies. The measurement of Thunderstorm days (Td) was one of the first tools used to monitor storms. The advent of automatic detection networks on the surface has allowed us to advance in the understanding and characterization of the electrical activity in the atmosphere, locating in real‐time electrical discharges and providing information over previously unrecorded regions. This work focuses on the integration of human observations at conventional meteorological stations and the data provided by the WWLLN surface discharge detection network in Argentina. The calibration methodology applied determined a mean human thunderstorm detection radius of 21 km which allowed the elaboration of isokeraunic maps for the period 2008–2017 for the region of interest. The spatial distribution of storms yielded the highest values of Td in the Argentine Northwest region with values above 100 Td·year−1 followed by a relative maximum in the Argentine Northeast with 80 Td·year−1 and the Sierras de Córdoba with 50 Td·year−1.