About The Annual Variations Of The Lightning Characteristics In The Southeast Brazil

A study of the annual variations of the negative<br>cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning flash characteristics<br>in the southeast Brazil is presented. The study is<br>based on about 10 million flashes recorded by a<br>Lightning Position and Tracking System (LPATS)<br>lightning detection network from 1989 to 1995. The<br>data set can be considered as the longest data set ever<br>obtained in the tropics with a constant network configuration<br>and provides a unique opportunity to study<br>the annual distributions of the number, intensity<br>(peak current) and multiplicity of negative CG<br>flashes. The distribution of number of flashes is<br>shown to follow local meteorological features. The<br>distribution of peak current seems to be influenced by<br>a large-scale tropical meteorological feature. The<br>distribution of multiplicity seems to be influenced by<br>instrumental effects.