Reyann Larkey

Reyann Larkey

PhD, Physics, Montana State University

Publications

The Relationship Between Instantaneous Lightning Flash Rates and TGF Production in Thunderstorms

Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 2021

TGFs, which are very intense bursts of high energy radiation that are produced by some lighting, occur in almost every phase of the thunderstorms that produce them. We find that TGFs do not tend to occur when the lightning flash rate is at its peak and that TGFs occur more often after the peak flash rate, in the later stages of the thunderstorms. We also find that TGFs are more likely to occur when the lightning flash rate in the storm is lower than average. Lastly, we find that lightning flashes near the time of the TGFs are usually among the stronger flashes in the storms.

Recommended citation: Larkey, R. K., Sample, J. G., Smith, D. M., Lapierre, J. L., DiGangi, E., & Holzworth, R. H. (2021). "The Relationship Between TGF Production in Thunderstorms and Lightning Flash Rates and Amplitudes" Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 126, e2020JD034401. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD034401

Evidence for Extended Charging Periods Prior to Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes

Published in Geophysical Research Letters, 2019

Terrestrial Gamma-Ray flashes (TGFs) are intense bursts of high energy radiation that are associated with some lightning flashes. We examined a sample of thunderstorms that produced these TGFs and compared the times between all different lightning flashes within those individual storms. We found that the time between the TGF-producing flash and the flash immediately prior to it was typically longer than normal, implying that the electric field had more time to charge up. Conversely, we found that the time between the TGF-producing flash and the flash immediately afterwards was typically about the same length as other flash intervals in the same storms, implying that the TGF returned the cloud to a “normal” state. We found that these results were highly unlikely to have occurred by chance.

Recommended citation: Larkey, R. K., Sample, J. G., Smith, D. M., Briggs, M. S., Lapierre, J. L., & Holzworth, R. H. (2019). "Evidence for extended charging periods prior to terrestrial gamma ray flashes" Geophysical Research Letters. 46. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL083827