Summary
This is a temporal and comparative analysis of thunderstorms and some related phenomena in three towns in the northern part of Nigeria.
On a diurnal basis, the three stations show both an afternoon and nocturnal maximum with the nocturnal maximum occurring at 0000–0100 LST for all phenomena.
Seasonally, while thundery activities peak first in Jos, Kaduna and Zaria in that order, lightning and squalls peak in the reverse order. This implies that for thundery activities, an ample amount of moisture is required while limited moisture is needed for the initiation of lightning and squalls.
Compared to Jos and Kaduna, Zaria possesses a higher amplitude for all the three phenomena under consideration. This stems from the fact that Zaria is closer to the centre of the disturbance line generating zone than the other stations.
The diurnal cycle of occurrence of thunderstorms and related phenomena results from the diurnal cycle of insolation in the cloudless area in the vicinity of an easterly wave and radiational forcing of the cloudy region of the perturbed area.
Zusammenfassung
Es handelt sich um eine zeitliche und vergleichende Analyse von Gewittern und mit ihnen verbundenen Phänomenen aus drei Städten im nördlichen Teil Nigerias. Im Tagesgang zeigen die drei Stationen ein Nachmittagsund ein Nachtmaximum, wobei das Nachtmaximum für alle Phänomene zwischen 0 und 1 Uhr Lokalzeit auftritt.
Im Jahresgang wandert das Maximum der Gewitteraktivität von Jos über Kaduna nach Zaria, während Blitze und “Squalls” ihr Maximum in umgekehrter Reihenfolge haben. Für Gewitter ist offenbar reichlich Feuchtigkeit notwendig, während für die Entstehung von Blitzen und “Squalls” geringere Mengen ausreichen.
Im Vergleich mit Jos und Kaduna besitzt Zaria für alle drei behandelten Phänomene die höchste Amplitude. Das rührt daher, daß Zaria näher der die Störungslinie erzeugenden Zone liegt als die anderen Stationen.
Der Tagesgang der Gewitteraktivität und der anderen Phänomene entsteht durch den Tagesgang der Einstrahlung in der wolkenlosen Zone nahe einer östlichen Welle und durch den Einfluß der bewölkten Gebiete im Störungsbereich.
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Salau, O.A. Temporal and comparative analysis of thunderstorms and some related phenomena in Zaria, Jos, and Kaduna (Nigeria). Theor Appl Climatol 37, 220–232 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00867579
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00867579