<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Thunderstorms are the most hazardous meteorological phenomena in Latvia in the summer season, and the assessment of their characteristics is essential for the development of an effective national climate and weather prediction service. However, the complex nature of convective processes sets specific limitations to their observation, analysis and forecasting. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse thunderstorm features associated with severe thunderstorms observed in weather radar and satellite data in Latvia over the period 2006–2015. The obtained results confirm the applicability of the selected thunderstorm features for thunderstorm nowcasting and analysis in Latvia. The most frequent features observed on days with thunderstorm were maximum radar reflectivities exceeding 50 dBZ and the occurrence of overshooting tops and tilted updrafts, while the occurrence of gravity waves, V-shaped storm structures and small ice particles have been found to be useful indicators of increased thunderstorm severity potential.</p></abstract>

Thunderstorms are the most hazardous meteorological phenomena in Latvia in the summer season, and the assessment of their characteristics is essential for the development of an effective national climate and weather prediction service. However, the complex nature of convective processes sets specific limitations to their observation, analysis and forecasting. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse thunderstorm features associated with severe thunderstorms observed in weather radar and satellite data in Latvia over the period 2006–2015. The obtained results confirm the applicability of the selected thunderstorm features for thunderstorm nowcasting and analysis in Latvia. The most frequent features observed on days with thunderstorm were maximum radar reflectivities exceeding 50 dBZ and the occurrence of overshooting tops and tilted updrafts, while the occurrence of gravity waves, V-shaped storm structures and small ice particles have been found to be useful indicators of increased thunderstorm severity potential.

Remote Sensing Observations of Thunderstorm Features in Latvia

Forecasting and Climate Department, Latvian Environment

Environmental and Climate Technologies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"Remote Sensing Observations of Thunderstorm Features in Latvia"}

Thunderstorms are the most hazardous meteorological phenomena in Latvia in the summer season, and the assessment of their characteristics is essential for the...

Remote Sensing Observations of Thunderstorm Features in Latvia

Published Online: Dec 29, 2017

Page range: 28 - 46

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/rtuect-2017-0014

Keywords
Lightning detection, meteorological satellite, remote sensing, thunderstorms, weather radar

© 2017 Zanita Avotniece et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Remote Sensing Observations of Thunderstorm Features in Latvia

Published Online: Dec 29, 2017

Page range: 28 - 46

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/rtuect-2017-0014

KeywordsLightning detection, meteorological satellite, remote sensing, thunderstorms, weather radar

© 2017 Zanita Avotniece et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Lightning detection, meteorological satellite, remote sensing, thunderstorms, weather radar