Lightning In Hurricanes

[Ptarmigan]

How come we don't see much lightning in a hurricane, comparable to a summer thunderstorm, even though they are intense thunderstorms.

[TexasSam]

How come we don't see much lightning in a hurricane, comparable to a summer thunderstorm, even though they are intense thunderstorms.

I found a answer on the wpde web page...

Question:
Hey Ed,

How come there is not much thunder or lightning in a hurricane? You are my favorite weatherman aorund!!

Tina
Answer:
Hi Tina,

Thank you for the kind words. Although hurricanes produce very fast winds, the vertical temperature structure of hurricanes leads to fewer ice crystals within the clouds resulting in an environment that often produces little in the way of lightning.
Submitted By: Tina From: Myrtle Beach

[TSmith274]

Yep, basically lots of warm air updrafts between the storm complexes within the storm, or at least that's what I've always thought.

[Ptarmigan]

I found a answer on the wpde web page...

Question:
Hey Ed,

How come there is not much thunder or lightning in a hurricane? You are my favorite weatherman aorund!!

Tina
Answer:
Hi Tina,

Thank you for the kind words. Although hurricanes produce very fast winds, the vertical temperature structure of hurricanes leads to fewer ice crystals within the clouds resulting in an environment that often produces little in the way of lightning.
Submitted By: Tina From: Myrtle Beach

I see. I remember reading in an advisory that the Hurricane Hunters saw hail in Hurricane Katrina.

[Wthrman13]

Lightning can and does occur in hurricane eyewalls, particularly intensifying ones, but is just as often completely absent. It depends on the relative importance of strong localized convective (upward) motions versus the more balanced, larger scale, hurricane circulation. When a hurricane has a lot of strong convection in the eyewall (such as was the case with Dennis, Katrina, and Rita over the Gulf last year, for examples, which all had an intense, nearly solid ring of thunderstorms making up the eyewall for a long period), lightning is more likely. For a hurricane with less intense convection in the eyewall, such as Isabel (2003) and Frances (2004) at landfall virtually no lightning is present.

[Sean in New Orleans]

Last year, the first line of squalls with Katrina was filled with impressive lightning and thunder...they moved in on Sunday evening just before sunset

[Regit]

After Floyd I had a friend who lives near me who was so excited because just to our east we had seen bright green "lightning" all night long. He thought it was so cool because it seemed to project up from the ground.

When I told him it was just wires popping and transformers blowing up, he was quite bummed.

I don't think I've ever seen a genuine lightning bolt during a hurricane, though.

[AnnularCane]

I got the fringes of Andrew and Rita, and I saw lightning in both those storms. I think that's it though.

[Aslkahuna]

We had thunderstorms during the eyewall of typhoon Irma at Clark AB in 1974. When Katrina was bombing, not only the eyewall and the outermost band had lightning but so did the internal bands-the first time I've ever seen lightning recorded in the spiral bands.

Steve

[SouthAlabamaWX]

We had thunderstorms during the eyewall of typhoon Irma at Clark AB in 1974. When Katrina was bombing, not only the eyewall and the outermost band had lightning but so did the internal bands-the first time I've ever seen lightning recorded in the spiral bands.

Steve

The last several huricanes that hit the Gulf Coast contained lightning (Katrina, Ivan, and Dennis). Also, the lightning which occurred was far displaced from the center (eye wall). Much of the lightning observed was in rain bands.

[Droop12]

I remember seeing lightning in Dennis, but not in Ivan. All I saw in Ivan was the green transformer explosions. Dennis though hit in the day and you could tell there was lightning. I always thought it was due to dry air intruding into the storm.