Weather Question

[Stealth]

Thought someone on this forum might be able to help me.

My son is looking for some information for a high school science research project.

He is interested in the correllation between lightning strikes and tornadic activity. Anyone know where he might be able to find data on this?

It could be for a specific storm or more general information. He is basically looking for anything he can get.

Thanks in advance for any help.

- Stealth

[TheUnnamedSooner]

I would try the South Oval first, they are smart over there ;)

[BASSooner]

The weather center would be your best bet.

[BASSooner]

but then again it is a government building so you couldn't get in. Know anyone who is a meterologist?

[Sooner Among The Pack]

Meteorologist here! :)

I'm not sure that there are many articles out there that are written for high-school level research on the topic, but there are a few studies out there that have been written by scientists in professional journals talking about how lightning flashes in a storm may relate to whether a storm produces a tornado.

Specifically, there was an older study done in 1981 entitled "Lightning Rates Relative to Tornadic Storm Evolution on 22 May 1981" (http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1175%2F1520-0469%281989%29046%3C0221%3ALRRTTS%3E2.0.CO%3B2) that most relate to the topic in question. You can search for scholarly articles on the website ams.allenpress.com (these are the professional journals). You might also try looking for articles in from National Geographic or Nature, as they may be less technical.

I've actually chased lots of storms and tornadoes during my time at school at Oklahoma, and have seen both ends of the spectrum: I've seen storms have zero lightning strikes around the rotating part and produce tornadoes and I've nearly been hit by lightning watching tornadoes form (one in particular in 2004 stands out for having way more lightning that one would expect).

Hope this helps! Feel free to PM me if you want more info.

[StuIsTheMan]

I would try the South Oval first, they are smart over there ;)


Since when? Did we get some new "talent" over there?:pop:

[Penguin]

Most lightning is positive charged, but when it turns to negative the storm gets a lot worse. Or maybe it's the other way around.


I don't really care. I work in aviation weather, not a professional storm chaser ala Twister. But if I were, rest assured that I would be one of those evil storm chasers.

Chasing storms for evil. That's me, baby!

[TheUnnamedSooner]

Since when? Did we get some new "talent" over there?:pop:

No, but they act smart :D

[sooner4life]

I hear they staid at a holiday inn last night

[SoonerStormchaser]

:norm:I got nuthin. :dean: