Sunspots And Thunderstorms

[Weather-history]

A report was made by Dr Evald Septer of the Magnetical and Meteorological Observatory, Irkutsk in the Meteorologische Zeitschrift of June 1926 on the connection between the relative number of sunspots and the frequency of thunderstorms in Siberia.

The annual average of the number of days with thunder at 229 stations between latitudes 71N and 43N and longitudes of 59.5 and 149.5E over a period of 37 years from 1888 to 1924. This period included three maxima and four minima.

The means of nine years about the three maxima and the twelve years grouped about the four minima gave

Sunspot maxima: 73.0

Thunderstorms: 18.4

Sunspot minima: 7.1

Thunderstorms: 10.6

A correlation coefficient of +0.88

Regress equation: number of thunderstorms = 10.4 + 0.11 (relative sunspot number)

Also

This paper from 1874 by Charles Meldrum on the correlation between cyclones and sunspots

Catalogue of cyclones experienced in the Indian Ocean from 1847 to 1873 indicated that period the number of cyclones in the spave between the equator and 34S and the meridans 40E and 110E was much greater in the years of maximum than in the years of minimum sunspot frequency. The author shows that not only the number of cyclones , but their duration, extent and energy were also much greater in the former than in the latter years and there is a strong probability that cyclone fluctation is consistent with a similar fluctation of the rainfall over the globe generally

Edited February 20, 2011 by Mr_Data

[PersianPaladin]

Fascinating stuff.

[VillagePlank]

I've come across this before with my studies of sunspots and climate. Unfortunately ...

"Dr Pittock's last examples consisted of cases of admitted or probable fraud. Prior to 1974 the only published results indicating a strong correlation (0.88) between thunderstorm frequency and the sunspot cycle were those of Evald Septor, Director of the Geophysical Observatory, Irkutsk, USSR (1926). Nowhere else had a correlation exceeding 0.4 been reported. Subsequent analysis of the Russian data be Kleimenova (1967) revealed that Septor's data had either been fabricated or had disappeared without any evidence of it ever existing"

A. Pittock, Royal Meteorological Society: Australian Branch Meeting, 22 May 1980: Facts, Fallacies and Fraud: Science as a Fallible Human Activity

rmsab3.pdf

Full Proceedings of Meldrums case are, here - interesting study on hurricanes and sunspots, here:

160259.pdf

Edited February 20, 2011 by VillagePlank

[Snowyowl9]

Interesting sunspot maximum in the early 1980`s highest frequency of thunderstorms I`ve seen.

Mid to late 80`s far less.

Early 90`s became much stronger thunderstorms/1992/93 mainly.

August 1999 and 2004 gave the most thunderstorms I`ve recorded in a month.

Mid 90`s gave quite a few 1997 did anyway.

late 50`s was the highest solar max of the 20th century.