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Electric Field Enlarges Raindrops Beneath Electrified Clouds: Observational Evidence
Author(s) -
Mudiar Dipjyoti,
Pawar S. D.,
Gopalakrishnan V.,
Williams Earle
Publication year - 2021
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 - 10.1029/2021gl093577
Subject(s) - electric field , coalescence (physics) , environmental science , cloud physics , meteorology , atmospheric sciences , intensity (physics) , field (mathematics) , cloud computing , atmospheric electricity , physics , optics , computer science , astrobiology , mathematics , quantum mechanics , pure mathematics , operating system
Simultaneous measurements of cloud electric field and raindrop size at the Earth's surface have been analyzed to investigate an anticipated relation between the two cloud parameters. A significant positive correlation is observed between the magnitude of the surface electric field and raindrop size supported by a theoretical framework advanced here. It is shown that in the presence of an electric field, raindrops increase their size through electrically induced collision and coalescence processes near the Earth's surface. This study also demonstrates that the presence of an electric field inside the cloud can enhance the rain intensity by influencing the growth rate of raindrops. This new insight may be useful for a proper understanding of the rain microphysics and for developing better numerical weather models for simulation and forecasting of heavy rainfall events associated with stronger in‐cloud electrical environments.