OBSERVATIONS OF LIGHTNING IN THE STRATOSPHERE

An examination and analysis of video images of lightning, captured by the payload bay TV cameras of the space shuttle, provided a variety of examples of lightning in the stratosphere above thunderstorms. These images were obtained on several recent shuttle flights while conductin g the Mesoscale Lightning Experiment (MLE). The images of stratospheri c lightning illustrate the variety of filamentary and broad vertical d ischarges in the stratosphere that may accompany a lightning flash, A typical event is imaged as a single or multiple filament extending 30 to 40 km above a thunderstorm that is illuminated by a series of light ning strokes. Examples are found in temperate and tropical areas, over the oceans, and over the land.