Evaluation of a new lightning-produced NOx parameterization for cloud resolving models and its associated uncertainties

Comparisons of the simulated flash rate and NO mixing ratio (control experiment) with observations at different locations and stages of the storm show good agreement. An individual flash produces on average 121±41 moles of NO (7.3±2.5×10²⁵ molecules NO) for the simulated high cloud base, high shear storm that is dominated by intra-cloud flash activity.

Sensitivity tests have been performed to study the impact of the flash rate, the cloud-to-ground flash ratio, the flash length, the spatial distribution of the NO molecules, and the production rate per flash on the NO concentration and distribution. Results show a strong impact from the flash rate, the spatial placement of the lightning-NOx source and the number of moles produced per flash. On the other hand, the simulations show almost no impact from the different cloud-to-ground (CG) ratios and the lightning-NOx production rates per CG flash used as input to the model.