Regional Features of Lightning Activity in the South of the Russian Far East

Abstract— According to the WWLLN data for the period of 2009–2018, regional features of lightning activity in the south of the Russian Far East, including the southern part of Sakhalin Island, are investigated. It is shown that the thunderstorm period here (99.5% of lightning) is from May to September in the northern continental regions, from April/May to October in the southern and southeastern regions, and from May to November in the southern part of the island. It was noted that the lightning activity is characterized by the maxima in July over plains and lowlands and in June over the areas with predominance of mountain terrain. The average decadal density of lightning on the continent increases from east to west, from the lowest values in the coastal regions to the highest ones in the northwest. At the same time, the lightning activity density in the continental part of the southern Far East is on average five times higher than on Sakhalin. The difference in the lightning activity characteristics over the western and eastern slopes of mountain ranges and ridges is noted.