Distinct Cloud‐to‐Ground Lightning Properties in Frontal Versus Warm‐Sector Heavy Rainfall Events

Do systematic differences in cloud‐to‐ground (CG) lightning properties—particularly return stroke number and current intensity—exist across different thunderstorm types? This question is foundational not only to the atmospheric electricity but also to advancing lightning risk prediction, which crucially depends on a robust understanding of how these physical attributes vary among thunderstorm types. This study compares CG lightning characteristics between frontal (FR) and warm‐sector heavy rainfall (WR) events in Guangdong, China, using data from the Guangdong Lightning Location System from 2003 to 2014. Results show that WR events feature a higher positive CG (PCG) lightning percentage, more return strokes (RSs) of negative CG (NCG) lightning, and stronger NCG lightning currents, but lower CG lightning frequency compared to FR events. FR events exhibit higher peak currents in PCG compared to NCG lightning, while WR events show the opposite pattern. These differences remain consistent across the varying precipitation intensity bins used to classify the events. Additionally, WR events develop secondary peaks in the distributions of PCG lightning percentage, NCG RS number, and NCG lightning current as precipitation intensity increases, gradually approaching the decreasing peaks in FR events at higher precipitation intensities, leading to more similar CG lightning properties between the two event types. It is demonstrated that different types of thunderstorms can produce lightning discharges with distinct physical properties. Specifically, weaker convection may correlate with more RSs and greater current in NCG lightning. This finding offers valuable insights for the construction of future lightning risk predication.