I. Kolmašová, O. Santolík, A. Kolínská, S. Pédeboy, R. Lán, L. Uhlíř
{"title":"Rapid evolution of energetic lightning strokes in Mediterranean winter storms","authors":"I. Kolmašová, O. Santolík, A. Kolínská, S. Pédeboy, R. Lán, L. Uhlíř","doi":"10.1038/s41612-025-00965-6","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The occurrence of winter lightning concentrates in a few specific regions in the world, including the Mediterranean, where electromagnetic signatures of this interesting dangerous phenomenon have not yet been studied in detail. We investigate the initial stage of energetic negative cloud-to-ground winter lightning flashes in the West Mediterranean region using broadband magnetic field measurements (5 kHz–90 MHz) recorded in winter 2014/2015, which was unusually rich in global lightning activity. We found that the winter pre-stroke processes leading to the high peak current lightning (<−100 kA) lasted on average only 1.7 ms (in one case only 220 µs). Rapid evolution of energetic lightning indicates that leader initiation charge centers can be as low as 500 m above the ground. The measured distribution of pre-stroke pulse amplitudes and interpulse intervals can be used to model the charge structure in the lower thundercloud dipole and to derive the properties of in-cloud lightning channels.</p>","PeriodicalId":19438,"journal":{"name":"npj Climate and Atmospheric Science","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"npj Climate and Atmospheric Science","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-00965-6","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"METEOROLOGY & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The occurrence of winter lightning concentrates in a few specific regions in the world, including the Mediterranean, where electromagnetic signatures of this interesting dangerous phenomenon have not yet been studied in detail. We investigate the initial stage of energetic negative cloud-to-ground winter lightning flashes in the West Mediterranean region using broadband magnetic field measurements (5 kHz–90 MHz) recorded in winter 2014/2015, which was unusually rich in global lightning activity. We found that the winter pre-stroke processes leading to the high peak current lightning (<−100 kA) lasted on average only 1.7 ms (in one case only 220 µs). Rapid evolution of energetic lightning indicates that leader initiation charge centers can be as low as 500 m above the ground. The measured distribution of pre-stroke pulse amplitudes and interpulse intervals can be used to model the charge structure in the lower thundercloud dipole and to derive the properties of in-cloud lightning channels.
期刊介绍:
npj Climate and Atmospheric Science is an open-access journal encompassing the relevant physical, chemical, and biological aspects of atmospheric and climate science. The journal places particular emphasis on regional studies that unveil new insights into specific localities, including examinations of local atmospheric composition, such as aerosols.
The range of topics covered by the journal includes climate dynamics, climate variability, weather and climate prediction, climate change, ocean dynamics, weather extremes, air pollution, atmospheric chemistry (including aerosols), the hydrological cycle, and atmosphere–ocean and atmosphere–land interactions. The journal welcomes studies employing a diverse array of methods, including numerical and statistical modeling, the development and application of in situ observational techniques, remote sensing, and the development or evaluation of new reanalyses.