Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Dyer, Jamie L.

Committee Member

Wood, Kimberly M.

Committee Member

Brown, Michael E.

Date of Degree

5-12-2023

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Professional Meteorology/Climatology

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Geosciences

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between lightning totals from the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) and convectively induced turbulence (CIT). Turbulence is a hazard that affects passengers and crew through injury, emphasizing the importance of turbulence forecasting. GLM and turbulence data collected from pilot reports (PIREPs) are analyzed to find the average distance where maximum lightning frequency occurred for warm season airmass thunderstorms from 2019-2021. On average, 410 km from the PIREP is where maximum lightning frequency occurred and varying flash rates showed that as the flash rate increases, there is a linear increase in distance away from the storm. Case studies were conducted to provide a spatial analysis of lightning relative to the PIREP, it is found that in four out of five cases, turbulence was being advected downwind of the convection. This research identifies approaches to use lightning data alongside other remote sensing products to aid in forecasting CIT.

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