A thunderstorm in the Kamchatka Peninsula region from the VLF-radiation observation data

Being a rare phenomenon for this region, the thunderstorm was visually observed over the Kamchatka Peninsula in August 2007. The registration of thunderstorm discharges was carried out by the VLF direction finder sited at Paratunka observational point of the Institute of Cosmophysical Researches and Radio Wave Propagation of the Far East Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The temporary forms of atmospherics, their frequency characteristics, and azimuthal distribution of thunderstorm discharge number were plotted. The comparison of direction-finding and meteorological parameters demonstrated that the sharp change of wind direction was accompanied by the dramatic increase in the number of thunderstorm discharges. For comparison, the world network data were involved and the latitude-longitude distribution of thunderstorm activity from 45° to 60° N and from 140° to 170° E was plotted. The data comparison revealed their high consistency in detecting the location of thunderstorm discharge sources.