This is a past event.

Andrew Detwiler
Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences Program, and
Department of Physics
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Rapid City, SD

Lightning and thunder emanating from tall convective clouds are included in the earliest oral traditions of pre-historical humans. These phenomena have awed people from that time forward. In the modern era of atmospheric study much has been learned about physical processes occurring in thunderstorms. There are widely-accepted explanations of the physics associated with the very common occurrence of electrified storms. This presentation will address current efforts to obtain observations in the thunderstorm environment needed to quantitatively evaluate theories proposed to explain thunderstorm electrification, and the initiation and propagation of lightning.