Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Wintertime thunderstorms over the Eastern Mediterranean Sea exhibit relatively low flash rates but an anomalously high incidence of very intense cloud-to-ground (CG) discharges. Recent work suggests that sea-spray flux (SSF) may influence lightning via microphysical pathways, but its electrical effects in low-CAPE winter regimes remain poorly constrained. Here we investigate how SSF and sea state modulate lightning activity in the Israeli Mediterranean Exclusive Economic Zone (IMEEZ) during the winters of 2017–2024. We combine Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN) observations with reanalysis-based winds, measured significant wave height, and parameterized SSF to quantify the dependence of CG density, polarity, and peak current on sea state and distance from the coast. Lightning density peaks in a narrow coastal zone and declines rapidly offshore, while mean peak current increases with both distance from shore and increasing SSF. Under high sea state conditions, lightning is strongly suppressed over the IMEEZ, yet the fraction of high peak-current CG discharges rises. These results support a framework in which enhanced SSF simultaneously inhibits lightning initiation and favors fewer, more intense CG discharges over the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Source: Research Square
Authors: Mustafa Asfur, Jacob Silverman
Institutions: Ruppin Academic Center, National Institute of Oceanography
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7161118227