Thunderstorm activity over Fujian and Vicinity: Insights from thunderstorm tracking technology

This study analyses lightning locating data from Fujian Province, China, covering the period from 2019 to 2023, utilizing thunderstorm tracking technology to elucidate the spatiotemporal characteristics and lifecycle patterns of regional thunderstorm activity. Lightning location data were obtained from the Fujian Province Lightning Monitoring System and processed using a thunderstorm identification and tracking algorithm, resulting in 17,740 thunderstorm tracking paths. These paths served as the basis for statistical analysis of their distribution characteristics. The results indicate that the density of cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning is significantly higher over land than over the sea, with the highest values observed in the central and eastern parts of Quanzhou City and most areas of Putian City. Thunderstorm activity distribution, derived from thunderstorm tracking technology, is primarily concentrated in the eastern part of Sanming City, the western part of Fuzhou City, and the region north of the Daiyun Mountains, showing a correlation with topography. Thunderstorm initiation predominantly occurs in the afternoon (12:00–19:00), with a higher initiation density over land than over the ocean. The vast majority of thunderstorms in the study area move predominantly eastward, with approximately 70% exhibiting movement speeds between 0 and 60 km/h, and 93.39% lasting less than 2.5 hours. This study constitutes the first systematic analysis of the spatial heterogeneity and kinematic laws of thunderstorm activity in Fujian and surrounding regions through thunderstorm path inversion. It provides data support for meteorological applications, including the development of refined lightning warning models, optimization of power grid lightning protection zones, and dynamic adjustment of aviation routes.