Abstract The shape of lightning channels reflects nature's intricate craftsmanship, shaped by intracloud electric fields influenced by the microphysical structure of thunderstorms. While previous studies have focused primarily on the relationship between vertically stratified charge structures and vertical lightning development, the relationship between thunderstorm microphysics and the horizontal development of lightning remains unclear. This study uses three‐dimensional radiation source data from the Lightning Mapping Array at New Mexico's Langmuir Laboratory and KABX radar data to examine how the types, number concentrations, and spatial arrangement of hydrometeors influence the horizontal development of lightning within a certain range of altitudes. The WRF‐Electric model is employed to validate the observations. The results show that horizontal microphysical heterogeneity alters the evolution characteristics of lightning channels: branching and acceleration often occur at boundaries between different types of hydrometeors, in regions with high particle number concentrations, and near regions of vertical ice. Simulations further reveal that turbulence strongly influences the distribution of hydrometeors and that the type of hydrometeor has a greater effect on the electric field variation than does the number concentration. This study establishes a clear correspondence between thunderstorm microphysics and the horizontal development of lightning, and clarifies how microphysical structure affects lightning development.
Li et al. (2026) studied this question.