Electrical Alignment Signatures in Storms Using Dual-polarized Phased Array Radar

Ice crystals in the upper parts of thunderstorms could be vertically aligned by strong in-cloud electric fields.The maximum alignment with the electric field is reached just before the lightning discharge, followed by a quick reorientation in the horizontal plane due to the dominant atmospheric forces [1,2].Using an X-band Multi-Parameter Dual-Polarized Phased Array Weather Radar (MP-PAWR) which performs a whole-sky volume scan with 110 elevations at a temporal resolution of 30 seconds, the electrical alignment signatures within an evolution of an isolated thunderstorm have been investigated.