A Mediterranean nocturnal heavy rainfall and tornadic event. Part II: Total lightning analysis

On the night from 1st to 2nd of November 2008, a multi-cell storm coming from the Mediterranean produced severe weather in the coastal area of Catalonia (NE Spain): ground-level strong damaging wind gusts, a tornado – which caused F2 damage – and heavy rainfall. A general overview of the synoptic framework, damage observed and a radar analysis is given in the first part of the study. This second part is mostly centered on the detailed analysis of the total lightning behavior, its relationship with radar-derived storm parameters, and total lightning correlation with hazardous weather. The purpose is to bring more evidence about the outstanding role of total lightning in severe weather surveillance tasks. The analysis of the storm cells life cycle has showed similar trends between the total lighting flash rates and radar-derived parameters like the area of reflectivity above 30 dBZ at 7-km. Regarding lightning trends, a lightning “jump” pattern – an abrupt increase of the total lightning rate in a short period of time – has been related to severe weather. On the contrary, cloud-to-ground lightning data did not show any pattern related to severe weather. In comparison to other parameters, like the IC:CG ratio, the lightning “jump” pattern seems more robust to forecast in a short-term basis the possible occurrence of severe weather.