New Insights into the Correlation between Lightning Flash Rate and Size in Thunderstorms

Thunderstorms over the Tibetan Plateau (TP), Central and Eastern China (CEC), and southern foothills of the Himalayas (SHF), have the correlations between lightning flash rate and size disagreeing with the previously published negative correlation in thunderstorms with different dynamics. There is a positive correlation when comparing TP and CEC thunderstorms. Compared with SHF thunderstorms, TP thunderstorms have much lower flash rate and similar flash size. It is explored that the TP and SHF thunderstorms have the weakest and strongest convection, respectively, and both have small effective charge regions (ECRs). The CEC and SHF thunderstorms contain more ECRs than TP thunderstorm. The weak convection in TP thunderstorm should be responsible for the common occurrence of small flash rate and size. The results suggest that the negative correlation between flash rate and size may require the dynamic intensity of compared thunderstorms to exceed a certain threshold.