A Preliminary Study of the Audible Frequency Spectrum of Thunder Pertinent to Cloud to Ground discharges

Abstract:
Due to its destructive nature, the lightning phenomenon is difficult to study by direct measurements. Therefore, remote sensing of lightning-generated electromagnetic fields, thunder, and optical signatures are used to understand lightning initiation and channel propagation. This study aims to correlate the fundamental frequency of thunder signals with electric discharging processes associated with return stroke and subsequent strokes of a lightning flash. Audible thunder signatures and electrical discharges are captured by microphones with broad frequency response and a fast electric field antenna corroborated with a field mill. The analysis infers the fundamental and first overtone frequency related to the return stroke and the second and third to the first subsequent stroke.