A study on "Inter-Annual Lightning Variability within the TRMM LIS Dataset Using an ENSO Perspective", by Austin G. Clark (UAH) and Daniel J. Cecil (ST11), has been accepted for publication in Monthly Weather Review. The paper includes global maps of the mean lightning flash rate anomalies during the warm- and cold-phases of the El Nino - Southern Oscillation (ENSO). It focuses on four of the most prominent and repeatable lightning anomaly patterns observed in the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) dataset from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). In northern Argentina, lightning flash rates are enhanced during warm phase (El Nino) of ENSO. In northern Brazil and southeastern Africa, lightning is enhanced during the cold-phase (La Nina) and suppressed during the warm-phase. In north-central Africa, the warm-phase brings a shift in the seasonality of lightning, with enhanced lightning activity in August and September, compared to a bimodal distribution peaking in both May-June and August-September in cold-phase years.
