Aircraft Lightning Potential Area Detection Enhanced by Echo Top Height and its Evaluation with Winter Lightning Cases

Abstract

One important issue in aviation weather is how to reduce lightning strikes to aircrafts. One of our previous researches confirmed that detection of aircraft lightning potential areas by using the vertical integrated weather radar reflectivity and the reflectivity at the altitude of -10 degree Celsius air temperature is feasible. Once the aircraft lightning potential areas are detected, they can be avoided by operating aircrafts so that aircraft lightning strikes can be reduced. In this study, we have improved the detection method by adding weather radar echo top heights and aircraft altitudes into consideration. Our results showed that with this new detection method the false alarm rate can be reduced by a few tens of percentage points.