On the Impact of Meteorological Conditions on the Initiation of Upward Lightning Flashes from Tall Structures

Upward lightning flashes that originate from tall grounded structures have been classified as either 'self-triggered' or 'other-triggered' based on preceding lightning events in their vicinity, i.e., strokes or pulses from cloud-to-ground (CG) or intracloud (IC) discharges occurring around the tower. A total of 165 upward flashes recorded between March 2015 to July 2016 at the Säntis Tower in the eastern Swiss Alps are analyzed considering the related meteorological conditions. The results are compared to similar previous studies to reveal some general ideas on how meteorological conditions influence the initiation of self- and other- triggered upward flashes.