Lightning in Western Patagonia

Abstract

On the basis of 8 years (2005–2012) of stroke data from the World Wide Lightning Location Network we describe the spatial distribution and temporal variability of lightning activity over Western Patagonia. This region extends from ~40°S to 55°S along the west coast of South America, is limited to the east by the austral Andes, and features a hyper-humid, maritime climate. Stroke density exhibits a sharp maximum along the coast of southern Chile. Although precipitation there is largely produced by cold nimbostratus, days with more than one stroke occur up to a third of the time somewhere along the coastal strip. Disperse strokes are also observed off southern Chile. In contrast, strokes are virtually nonexistent over the austral Andes—where precipitation is maximum—and farther east over the dry lowlands of Argentina. Atmospheric reanalysis and satellite imagery are used to characterize the synoptic environment of lightning-producing storms, exemplified by a case study and generalized by a compositing analysis. Lightning activity tends to occur when Western Patagonia is immersed in a pool of cold air behind a front that has reached the coast at ~40°S. Under these circumstances, midlevel cooling occurs before and is more prominent than near-surface cooling, leading to a weakly unstable postfrontal condition. Forced uplift of the strong westerlies impinging on the coastal mountains can trigger convection and produces significant lightning activity in this zone. Farther offshore, large-scale ascent near the cyclone’s center may lift near-surface air parcels, fostering shallow convection and dispersing lightning activity.