NOAA Atmospheric Electricity and Lightning
NOAA supports research on thunderstorms, lightning, and storm electrification using radar, lightning mapping systems, and field campaigns to improve weather forecasting.
This grant is no longer accepting proposals
NRC Research Associateship Programs has archived this opportunity.
Funder: NRC Research Associateship Programs
Due Dates: May 1, 2025 (Application Deadline)
Funding Amounts: Base stipend approx. $60,000/year plus $3,000 travel allowance; $24,000 supplement for Electrical Engineering doctorates; duration typically 2-3 years.
Summary: Supports postdoctoral and senior research on atmospheric electricity and lightning at NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory to improve understanding and forecasting of thunderstorms and lightning.
Key Information: Open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and non-U.S. citizens; requires contacting a NOAA research adviser prior to applying; relocation and health insurance benefits included.
Description
This fellowship opportunity supports research on the electrical properties of thunderstorms, including severe storms, mesoscale convective systems, and winter storms, with a focus on understanding lightning generation and its implications for weather forecasting. Research is conducted at NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma.
Available resources include:
- Lightning mapping systems that provide 3D mapping of lightning and ground strike locations.
- S-band polarimetric Doppler radar and occasionally an S-band phased-array radar.
- A mobile laboratory for launching balloon-borne electric field sensors.
- New in situ sensors for cloud microphysical properties relevant to storm electrification.
- Additional airborne and balloon-borne sensors and radars during special field campaigns.
Research topics include:
- Lightning and electrical properties of mesoscale convective systems and severe storms.
- Correlations between lightning and radar-derived storm parameters.
- Environmental conditions favoring positive cloud-to-ground lightning.
- Numerical storm models incorporating electrification and lightning.
- Applications of lightning data in meteorological operations.
- Cloud microphysics related to storm electrification.
- Assimilation of lightning mapping data into forecast models.
- Forecasting lightning activity.
This program aims to enhance weather operations by improving the understanding and forecasting of lightning and storm electrification.
