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Radar research on thunderstorms and lightning

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Abstract

Weather radars can resolve many phenomena related to thunderstorms. Echoes from clear air, water and ice condensate, and ionized lightning channels can all be identified. Radial velocity data from two Doppler-radars are synthesized to show a storm mesocyclone with updraft speeds as large as 40 m s−1, moist boundary layer air flowing into the storm, and outflow into the upper troposphere. Maximum wind speeds in tornadoes can be remotely measured using Doppler spectra obtained with a high PRF radar. Doppler radars can detect thunderstorm gusts even when they are in the clear air many tens of kilometres away from the storm, and radar detection of the ionized channels caused by lightning opens new avenues into thunderstorm research.

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  1. National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Norman, Oklahoma, 73069, USA

    W. David Rust & Richard J. Doviak

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  1. W. David Rust
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Rust, W., Doviak, R. Radar research on thunderstorms and lightning. Nature 297, 461–468 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/297461a0

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