Combined analysis of rainfall and lightning data produced by mesoscale systems in the central and eastern Mediterranean

In the frame of this study, the rain and lightning activity produced by rainfall events in the central and eastern Mediterranean has been studied. The analysis focuses on the study of the rainfall events that occurred during a period of 6 months spanning from October 2003 up to March 2004. The data used consist of 6-h accumulated precipitation amounts reported by an average number of 220 rain gauges of the surface network and the lightning strokes detected by the ATD system operated by the UK Meteorological Office. It was found that for almost 50% of the cases when rain was recorded but in absence of lightnings, the 6-h accumulated precipitation was smaller or equal to 1 mm. This percentage drops to about 15% for the cases in presence of lightnings. The distribution of 6-h accumulated precipitation without lightnings presents a clear maximum at 1 mm while the distribution in presence of lightnings presents a clear maximum at 10 mm and an important swift towards larger precipitation amounts.