Global Distribution of Midnight Lighting—September to November 1977

The first significant results of a long detailed lightning study are reported in which the distribution of global midnight lightning is plotted from 60°S to 60°N for the months of September. October and November 1977. Lightning positions obtained from DMSP photographic data are plotted with an accuracy of ∼100 km and the cumulative plots show a remarkable agreement with features of the general circulation. Land-ocean lightning flash ratios are calculated to range from 1.5 to 2.0 for the three months, September (1.6), October (1.5) and November (2.0).