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September 10, 2025Open Access

Analysis of the Charge Structure Accompanied by Hail During the Development Stage of Thunderstorm on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

YLYajun LiHexi University XFXiangpeng FanAgricultural Information Institute YZYu‐Xiang ZhaoZhejiang University

Key Points

Thunderstorm development showed two discharge regions with negative dipolar charge structures, affecting lightning frequency.
Analysis found that negative intracloud lightning constituted 83% of the total lightning activity during the storm.
Observational methods included a multi-station network with VHF lightning location systems and electric field measurements.
Findings suggest a shift in lightning activity as hail processes alter storm characteristics.

Abstract

The charge structure and lightning activities during the development stage of a thunderstorm with a hail-falling process in Datong County of Qinghai Province on 16 August 2014 were studied by using a multi-station observation network composed of a very-high-frequency, three-dimensional, lightning-radiation-source location system and broadband electric field. The research results show that two discharge regions appeared during the development stage of the thunderstorm. The charge structure was all a negative dipolar polarity in two discharge regions; however, the heights of the charge regions were different. The positive-charge region at a height of 2–3.5 km corresponds to −1–−10 °C and the negative-charge region at a height of 3.5–5 km corresponds to −11–−21 °C in one discharge region; the positive-charge region at a height of 4–5 km corresponds to −15–−21 °C and the negative-charge region at a height of 5–6 km corresponds to −21–−29 °C in another region. The charge regions with the same polarity at different heights in the two discharge regions gradually connected with the occurrence of the hail-falling process during the development stage of the thunderstorm, and the overall height of the charge regions decreased. All the intracloud lightning flashes that occurred in the thunderstorm were of inverted polarity discharge, and the horizontal transmission distance of the discharge channel was short, all within 10 km. The negative intracloud lightning flash, negative cloud-to-ground lightning flash, and positive cloud-to-ground lightning flash generated during the thunderstorm process accounted for 83%, 16%, and 1% of the total number of lightning flashes, respectively. Negative cloud-to-ground lightning flashes mainly occurred more frequently in the early phase of the thunderstorm development stage. As the thunderstorm developed, the frequency of intracloud lightning flashes became greater than that of negative cloud-to-ground lightning flashes, and finally far exceeded it. The frequency of lightning flashes decreases sharply and the intensity of thunderstorms decreases during the hail-falling period.

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