The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has traditionally utilized cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning for a variety of purposes but recently intra-cloud (IC) flash data as part of total (CG + IC) lightning has been made available. To further explore characteristics of considering both CG and IC flashes in an operational setting, a systematic evaluation and comparison of the Vaiasala’s National Lightning ...

[1] Prompt early/fast perturbations on narrowband sub-ionospherically propagating very low frequency (VLF) signals are the primary evidence for the direct coupling of energy released by lightning discharge to the lower ionosphere. Different mechanisms have been advanced to explain the fast ionospheric perturbations, such as heating and ionization from the lightning electromagnetic pulse (EMP) a...

The purpose of this paper is to introduce electrical discharge phenomena known as transient luminous events above thunderstorms to the lightning protection community. Transient luminous events include the upward electrical discharges from thunderstorms known as starters, jets, and gigantic jets, and electrical discharges initiated in the lower ionosphere such as sprites, halos, and elves. We gi...

According to the US NOAA, lightning is the second killer among the four major storm-related hazards, just after floods but before tornadoes and hurricanes. About 100 individuals, on average, are killed annually by lightning in the United States, and more than 500 people are injured. Up to 20 % of lightning victims die. Typical accidents are due to lightning through a direct or indirect strike t...

When lightning strikes soil, it may generate a cylindrical tube of glass known as a fulgurite. The morphology of a fulgurite is ultimately a consequence of the energy of the lightning strike that formed it, and hence fulgurites may be useful in elucidating the energy distribution frequency of cloud-to-ground lightning. Fulgurites from sand mines in Polk County, Florida, USA were collected and a...

Lightning causes deaths, injuries, damages, and significant costs and losses around the world. The global lightning flash rate is in the range of 40 to 100 lightning flashes per second, of which about 30 % are cloud-to-ground flashes. The development of theoretical and experimental researches is crucial for a better understanding of the physical phenomenon and for the characterization of lightn...

Four classes of models of the lightning return stroke are reviewed. These four classes are: 1) the gas dynamic models; 2) the electromagnetic models; 3) the distributed-circuit models; and 4) the “engineering” models. Validation of the reviewed models is discussed. For the gas dynamic models, validation is based on observations of the optical power and spectral output from natural lightning. Th...