Characteristics of cloud-to-ground lightning activity in hailstorms over Yunnan province

The characteristics of cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning for nine hailstorms in Yunnan province of China are analyzed statistically. It is determined that the hailstorms were found to present dominant negative CG lightning flashes at any given stage. One specific hailstorm occurring on July 16, 2006, is analyzed in detail by using the data from a CG lightning location network and Doppler radar. This severe hailstorm, which exhibited strong vertical development with cloud tops reaching 15.9 km, produced hailstones as large as 15 mm and had a lifespan of 3 h and 12 min. The total CG lightning within the hailstorm showed high levels of activity with flash rates of up to 79 fl/5 min. The analysis of the storm cell's lifecycle shows similar trends between the CG lightning flash rates and radar-derived parameters. Cloud-to-ground flashes tended to initiate within the cloud region with reflectivity of more than 30 dBZ at the −10 °C isotherm height. A distinct increase in CG flash rate is shown during the rapid development stages of hailstorms. The CG lightning jump pattern appears to be an effective tool for short-term forecasting of possible occurrences of severe weather.