Inter-Annual Lightning Variability within the TRMM LIS Dataset Using an ENSO Perspective

Abstract

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) was used to investigate inter-annual variability of lightning from 1998-2014 within the 38° S – 38° N range. Previous studies have indicated that the El-Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon is one significant contributor to inter-annual lightning variability, potentially the dominant mechanism on the global scale. This period of 16 years contained 4 warm- (El Niño), 8 cold- (La Niña), and 4 neutral-phase ENSO years based on the Oceanic Niño Index. Large magnitude lightning anomalies were found during the warm phase of ENSO, with mean warm-phase anomalies of > 10 Fl (1000 km)−2 min−1 in north-central Africa and Argentina. This includes a +35 Fl (1000 km)−2 min−1 anomaly in Argentina during the 2009 El Niño. In general, large-scale anomalies of thermodynamic properties and upper atmospheric vertical motion coincided with the lightning anomalies observed in both Africa and South America. The anomaly over north-central Africa however was characterized by a 6-week shift in the annual lightning maximum with the warm phase, a result of the more complex environmental response to ENSO over the Sahel. The most consistent ENSO anomalies with appreciable lightning were found in southeastern Africa, northwestern Brazil, central Mexico, and the southern Red Sea. Of these, all but the Mexico region had enhanced lightning with the cold phase and suppressed lightning with the warm phase.