Update of the spatial distribution of thunderstorms in Cuba

Abstract

The study of the spatial distribution of thunderstorms is of remarkable interest in issues such as human life protection and the design of protection schemes in different economic facilities. The aim of this work is to present updated maps of the spatial distribution of the frequency of observations reporting thunderstorms, the frequency of observations reporting thunderstorms while it is raining over the station and the annual average of days with thunderstorm reports. To draw these maps, records of tri-hourly present weather codes for 69 stations over the Cuban territory ranging between 1989 and 2008 were used as base information, together with an interpolation algorithm that uses the Cressmann objective analysis with weighting of the distances between the regular grid points and the stations based on the values of a set of base fields, which allows to define the representativity of each station in different directions. The current study shows an increase of the frequency of occurrence of thunderstorm reports on 63 % of all stations and an increase in the annual average of days with thunderstorm reports for 76,2 % of all stations as compared to previous studies. The spatial distribution of the variables under study show a similar pattern with maxima on regions distant from the coasts and mountainousss, while minima occur over the north coast of the provinces of Camaguey Ciego de Avila, and over South East of Pinar del Río.