Premium
A negative cloud‐to‐ground flash showing a number of new and rarely observed features
Author(s) -
Tran M. D.,
Rakov V. A.,
Mallick S.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2014gl061169
Subject(s) - flash (photography) , cloud computing , geology , meteorology , environmental science , computer science , physics , optics , operating system
An unusual natural lightning flash containing two branched negative strokes to ground was recorded at the Lightning Observatory in Gainesville, Florida, on 8 June 2013. The flash was apparently a bolt from the blue, whose first‐stroke leader emerged from the side of the cloud at a height of about 3.5 km above ground level. The first leader showed profuse branching and what appears to be corona‐like formations with spatial extent of 100 to 200 m (probably an intensified portion of radial corona sheath) at the upper part of the channel. Leader branching process facilitated by two simultaneous space stems was observed. The corresponding step lengths were estimated to be 14 and 15 m. The first‐stroke attachment process involved a streamer zone about 50 m in length. One of the second‐leader branches appeared to abruptly change its direction at the beginning of return stroke process.