world_Dec16_06hr
--December is the first month of meteorological winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and of spring in the Southern Hemisphere. --By tracking the latest hours in white, the overhead sun can be seen moving east to west on a daily basis. --Thunderstorms travel west to east over the middle and higher latitudes in both hemispheres, and are stationary or move more slowly from east to west in the tropics. ~Ron Holle
Jan 6, 2017 Webmaster Archive
Northern Hemisphere --Nearly all December lightning over the United States is in well-organized lines and clusters. --Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Russia, China, and Red Sea have minimal lightning. --Frequent systems move west to east over the Mediterranean Sea. --Lightning is present nearly every day over and near Japan. ~Ron Holle
Jan 10, 2017 12:43:20 AM Dave Fincher
Tropics --The east-west equatorial trough, the Intertropical Convergence Zone, is often well defined over the eastern Atlantic, and is less continuous over the central and eastern Pacific. --The major islands and land areas of tropical Southeast Asia have thunderstorms nearly every afternoon in sea breezes and along mountain slopes, but no persistent direction of motion. --Central America has minimal lightning through the month. ~Ron Holle
Jan 10, 2017 12:43:32 AM Dave Fincher
Southern Hemisphere --Lightning is very frequent over Australia, southern Africa, and Madagascar in December. --Most lightning over Africa is south of the Equator during November. --The Andes provide a sharp western boundary in a NNW-SSE line and no lightning occurs over the cold water offshore of the Andes. --Long lines of thunderstorms occasionally extend eastward over the adjacent oceans from the southeast coasts of Africa, Australia, and South America. ~Ron Holle
Jan 10, 2017 12:43:44 AM Dave Fincher
Specific --01 to 02 and 25 to 26 December: The largest and most organized thunderstorm complexes of the month move eastward from South Africa. --01 to 05 and 16 to 20 December: Frequent lightning in the vicinity of Hawaii. --03 to 09 and 23 to 25 December: Organized lines of thunderstorms affect populous regions of southeast Australia. --04 to 08 December: Large extratropical cyclonic circulation northeast of Bermuda. --20 December: Long line of lightning off Mexico in moisture plume extends from southwest to northeast toward the southwest United States. --24 to 26 December: Lightning in the eyewall of Super typhoon Nock-Ten moves west across the Philippines. --27 to 30 December: Long lines of frequent lightning over the southeast United States extend offshore to over the Atlantic Ocean. --30 to 31 December: Scattered strokes are detected offshore of northern Scandinavia. ~Ron Holle
Jan 10, 2017 12:43:59 AM Dave Fincher