The size and organization of a thunderstorm determines how a lightning flash appears from space. Changes in the clouds that occur as the storm grows, develops, and dissipates affect how the light is scattered, reflected, and observed. Dense clouds can block light from escaping the cloud top with enough energy to be detected from space, and light also can reflect off of lower cloud layers to make flashes appear larger than they are in reality.
In a new study, researchers combine measurements of clouds and lightning to show how the appearance of a lightning flash changes based on the size and organization of a thunderstorm. They suspect the way lightning appears to a satellite can provide important insight into thunderstorm development.
This animation shows lightning flashes from thunderstorms across the continental United States over four days in April 2018, as observed by the GOES-16 satellite.
The animation shows that clouds near the storm edge are frequently illuminated by large lightning flashes because the light reflects off of nearby clouds to reach the satellite. Large stationary lightning flashes also occur in small isolated thunderstorms.
Meanwhile, the satellite data shows light flashes that propagate horizontally in layer clouds that spread out over large areas.
Highly‐radiant lightning “superbolts” occur in two scenarios: embedded within horizontally-spread rainclouds or in non‐raining anvil clouds where the light takes a relatively clear path to the satellite.
Read more about this research in a new study in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres:
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2019JD031087
Video produced by Lauren Lipuma at AGU.
