Thunderstorm Characteristics during the Ontario Winter Lake-Effect Systems Project

The Ontario Winter Lake-Effect Systems (OWLeS) field campaign during the winter season of 2013/14 provided unprecedented data with regard to the structure and behavior of long-lake-axis-parallel (LLAP) lake-effect storms. One of the interesting characteristics of LLAP storm bands is their ability to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied meteorology and climatology 2018-04, Vol.57 (4), p.853-874
Main Authors: Steiger, Scott M., Kranz, Tyler, Letcher, Theodore W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aircraft
Antennas
Boundary layer stability
Boundary layers
Case depth
Cloud-to-ground lightning
Clouds
Detection
Electric fields
Instability
Kinematics
Lakes
Lightning
Lightning detection
Microphysics
Remote sensing
Snowstorms
Stability
Storms
Thunderstorms
Turbine engines
Turbines
Wind power
Wind turbines
Winter
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Summary:The Ontario Winter Lake-Effect Systems (OWLeS) field campaign during the winter season of 2013/14 provided unprecedented data with regard to the structure and behavior of long-lake-axis-parallel (LLAP) lake-effect storms. One of the interesting characteristics of LLAP storm bands is their ability to initiate lightning. The OWLeS datasets provide an opportunity to examine more thoroughly the kinematics and microphysics of lake-effect thunder-snowstorms than ever before. The OWLeS facilities and field personnel observed six lake-effect thunderstorms during December–January 2013/14. Most of them produced very little lightning (fewer than six cloud-to-ground strokes or intracloud pulses recorded by the National Lightning Detection Network). The 7 January 2014 storm had over 50 strokes and pulses, however, which resulted in 20 flashes over a 6-h period (0630–1230 UTC), making it the most electrically active storm during the field campaign. Relative to the 18 December 2013 storm, which only had three flashes, the 7 January 2014 case had a deeper boundary layer and greater instability. Also, 45% of the lightning during the 7 January storm was likely due to flashes initiated by wind turbines or other man-made antennas, along with all of the lightning observed during 18 December. No lightning was documented over Lake Ontario, the primary source of instability for these storms.
ISSN:1558-8424
1558-8432
DOI:10.1175/JAMC-D-17-0188.1