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Reliable Maps of Lightning Thunderstorms for

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 21, NO. 3, JULY 2006
Reliable Maps of Lightning
Thunderstorms for Saudi Arabia
M. H. Shwehdi, Senior Member, IEEE
AbstractThe main objective of this research is to develop
reliable maps of isokeraunic level (thunderdays/year, TD) for the
country on annual and seasonal bases. New annual thunder day
maps for Saudi Arabia are presented. The results in this paper are
based on data and records of thunderstorm incidences in Saudi
Arabia recorded by the Presidency of Metrology and Environ-
ment. These are compared with data from power system fault
records and with NASA satellite data. These new maps indicate
the location, frequency, and intensity of thunderstorms. Such
information is useful for engineers concerned with the design and
operation of transmission and distribution lines in the country,
and for the more general design of lightning protection systems.
Thunderstorms are most frequent in the southwest mountains in
the country, reaching a maximum TD of 97; the average TD for
the whole country is 26.
Index TermsLightning, lightning faults, satellite data, Saudi
Arabia, thunderday map, thunderdays.
I. OVERVIEW
I T IS well known that lightning accounts for many power
system interruptions and is one of the leading causes of
faults on transmission and distribution systems. In the U.S.
alone, an estimated 30% of all electric power outages are
related to lightning every year, with total costs of loss ap-
proaching U.S. $1 billion [1]. This includes equipment that
has been damaged, loss of lives, loss of production time, etc.
during thunderstorms. In most areas of the world, an indication
of lightning activity may be obtained from isokeraunic data
(thunderstorm-days per year). Thunderstorms are hazardous
weather phenomena and, together with high temperatures and
extreme winds, top the list of concerns in the Presidency of
Meteorology and Environment of Saudi Arabia (PME) and the
Saudi Electric Company (SEC). Thunderstorms are known to
be most frequent in the southwest part of the country. North
and central areas of Saudi Arabia have also had more frequent
thunderstorms recently. There appears to be no evidence of any
widespread temporal trend in thunderstorm frequency [2][4].
Thunderstorm occurrence at a particular location is usually ex-
pressed as the number of days in a calendar year when thunder
was heard, averaged over several years.
PME has been gathering lightning data at 28 locations around
the country since 1951, while SEC has installed monitoring and
Manuscript received March 14, 2005; revised November 15, 2005. This work
was supported in part by the City of King Abdul Aziz of Science and Technology
(KACST) and in part by the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.
Paper no. TPWRD-00142-2005.
The author is with the Electrical Engineering Department, King Fahd Univer-
sity of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhaharan 31261, Saudi Arabia (e-mail: msh-
wehdi@kfupm.edu.sa).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPWRD.2006.876978
0885-8977/$20.00 2006 IEEE
1571
recording systems for outages over some regions of its power
system since 1989. In Saudi Arabia, no reliable thunderday
maps have been developed previously, and utilities (SEC) had
no adequate TD data for designing lightning protection, partic-
ularly for transmission and distribution lines. This resulted in
serious deficiencies in lightning data for the southwest region
with the highest incidence of thunderstorms. The worldwide
isokeraunic map of 1965 [5] indicates only 5 to 10 thunderstorm
days per year in southwestern Saudi Arabia, and this is now
known to be a serious underestimate. So, old Isokeraunic maps
of TD, although providing a general indication of lightning
activity, are not reliable enough for modern lightning protec-
tion design needs. It is hoped that lightning damage to power
lines, structures, sensitive installations, livestock, etc., can be
considerably reduced when the thunderstorm data obtained
from long-term PME observations are used to develop new
and reliable TD maps for the country presented as annual
and seasonal averages. Capturing the spatial and temporal
distribution of lightning thunderstorm is of key importance
for the description and prediction of lightning and rainfall
phenomena. Local seasonal (Mediterranean and monsoonal
air mass movements, moisture, temperature, and pressure) and
topographical (altitude and distance from the sea) factors affect
the magnitude and distribution of thunderstorms, which vary
from place to place, and from time to time, even in small areas.
The description and prediction of lightning variability in space
and/or time are fundamental requirements for a wide variety of
power utilities, human activities, and water project designs.
II. SAUDI ARABIA METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION
A. Introduction
Many weather and atmospheric recording centers around the
world predict that global warming is causing climate changes in
the amount of solar radiation, rain, temperature, and the distri-
bution of moisture and dryness in many geographical regions. It
is a fact that many cold regions experience less rain and shorter
duration of cold periods, while those regions with a desert cli-
mate experience more rain and more cool periods. This increase
in rainfall and cool moist weather time will, in general, be ac-
companied by more thunderstorms and lightning [2], [3], [6].
In Saudi Arabia, thunderstorms have a very low total magni-
tude during a specific time interval and are unpredictable with
irregular but very intense local storms. The southwest region,
which recorded highest annual averages TD, lies within the sub-
tropical climate zone of Saudi Arabia and receives the highest
amount of thunderdays in comparison to other regions, because
1572
it is mountainous with elevations reachingmore than 2000 m
a.m.s.l.
Thunderday data only provide an indication of regional light-
ning activity based on average quantities derived from histor-
ically available ground-level observation [1], [5]. If available,
a superior measure of lightning activity may be obtained from
lightning ground flash density (GFD) maps, which are created
from information obtained via lightning detection networks, or
by historical lightning incidence records that include current,
time, frequency, date, intensity, etc, from online lightning de-
tection stations [5]. Unfortunately, such GFD data are not avail-
able in many countries, including Saudi Arabia, so there is no
recourse but to make the best use of the TD data.
B. Climate and Geography of Saudi Arabia
In both hemispheres, the cells dip eastward, producing
stronger winds on the eastern than western arcs. The oceanic
anticyclones are more stable than the continental ones, and
bring more constant and often strong winds to western tropical
desert costs. On land, the trade winds are strongest in the winter
when high-pressure cells develop over the cool continents, and
it is then that they reach closest to the equator. In summer,
when the terrestrial high-pressure systems are replaced by low
pressure, terrestrial trade winds moderate significantly. In and
around the Sahara region, the two wind systems are driven
by those terrestrial anticyclones [2]. The high pressure of the
subtropical zone in addition to the local topography affects the
climate of the southwest region that receives the highest annual
TD. Both the regional and local circulation have a dominant
influence on the climate of this region. According to the world
climate classification as established [6], the southwest region
can be divided into three main climate types: 1) the hot desert
climate prevails in the Red Sea Coast, 2) the low latitude semi-
arid climate prevails in the Plateau, and 3) the warm temperate
rainy climate with dry winters prevails in the Scarp Mountains
[6].
On the Red Sea Coast, there are two basic types of climate:
cool to warm and stable air originating from the Mediterranean
Sea during the winter period, and warm and moist air due to
monsoons coming in from the Indian Ocean during the summer.
From the temperature records in the Red Sea Coast stations, the
mean monthly maximum temperature is 38 C and the mean
monthly minimum temperature is 20 C. The highest recorded
temperature in July is 49 C and the lowest in January is 12 C.
The relative humidity varies from 55% in summer to 70% in
winter.
The climate of the plateau is generally characterized as mild
with some rain in the winter and spring, and hot and dry in the
summer and fall. The mean monthly maximum temperature is
30 C and the mean monthly minimum temperature is 15 C.
The highest temperature recorded in July is 38 C and the lowest
in January is 8 C. The relative humidity ranges from below
20% in summer to 45% in the winter.
The Scarp Mountains, which are characterized by high alti-
tude, tend to have a lower annual range of temperature than the
surrounding low areas. The mean minimum temperature is as
low as 0 C in scattered locations, especially in high peaks in
the winter. The mean monthly maximum temperature is 25 C in
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 21, NO. 3, JULY 2006
the summer. The relative humidity ranges from 35% in summer
to 65% in winter.
Geographically, Saudi Arabia is divided into four regions.
Central Region: (Riyadh, Hial, and Qaseem Area) During
the summer months (June, July, and August), the temperature
varies from 25 to 45 C and during the winter, from 10 to 18 C.
Precipitation varies widely, but generally, the region receives
only 50 mm100 mm rainfall yearly and occurs mostly from
October to April.
Western Region: (western part along the Red Sea, Jeddah,
Makkah, and Tabuk) During the summer months (June, July, and
August ), the temperature varies from 30 to 50 C and during
the winter from 10 to 20 C. Hilly areas of the southwest are
cooler in winter and even in the summer, they remain moderate.
Precipitation is common in this area and average rainfall varies
from 100 to 500 mm.
Southern Region: (bordering with Yemen) During the
summer months (June, July, and August), the temperature
varies from 20 to 30 C and during the winter from 10 to
20 C. In hilly areas, the winter nights are cooler. Snowfall is
seldom, but hailstorms and winter frost are common. In this
area, precipitation is also common and average rainfall varies
from 100 to 400 mm.
Eastern Region: (Dhahran, Al-Hassa, Hafr Al-Baten, and
part of Aruba-Al-Khali) Temperature varies widely during
the winter, with average night temperatures ranging from 5 to
20 C. The summer months are hot and humid; humidity often
reaches 90%. Precipitation varies from 50 to 100 mm per year,
mostly from November to February.
III. LIGHTNING SOURCES IN SAUDI ARABIA
A. Introduction
The estimation of the lightning performance of transmission
and distribution lines may contain significant uncertainties, such
as in estimating ground flash density and the number of direct
strikes to line. So rough estimates or generally accepted prac-
tices are often just as effective as detailed calculations.
The best measure of lightning intensity is GFD and this is
measured with a lightning detection network or with flash coun-
ters. Unfortunately, many parts of the world do not have such
equipment, or sufficient years of data are not available. This is
so in Saudi Arabia, and so there is no recourse but to use thun-
derday data to estimate GFD.
B. Thunderstorm Distribution in Saudi Arabia
The location of Saudi Arabia is in the orbital overheated re-
gion that has low clouds which cause thunderstorms. The clouds
accumulate over the land usually in the winter and spring sea-
sons and rarely in the summer season, except in the southern re-
gion where southwestern winds carry the clouds. From the PME
data, the average annual thunderdays do not exceed 30 in most
parts of Saudi Arabia except in the southwestern region. This
area experiences up to 97 thunderdays on some mountains, but
there are only about nine on the coast of the Red Sea in a year.
In winter, the average number of thunderstorms on the Arabian
Gulf shores is approximately five, but it is only about two on the
shores of the Red Sea.
SHWEHDI: RELIABLE MAPS OF LIGHTNING THUNDERSTORMS FOR SAUDI ARABIA
Thunderstorms during the winter are mainly associated with
cold and very unstable winds that flow over a relatively warm
sea. During this period, high cumulonimbus (CB) clouds de-
velop and occasionally thunderstorms follow. On the other hand,
thunderstorms are mainly formed inland during the summer. As
the sun warms the land, the air above it also becomes warmer
and, thus, the air may become unstable and thunderstorms may
develop. The frequency of thunderstorms is lower during winter
and autumn and these are the quietest months [2], [3], [6].
IV. LIGHTNING DATA RESOURCES IN SAUDI ARABIA
A. PME
During the last two decades, Saudi Arabia has experienced
very rapid development in the economic and industrial sectors,
and the necessity to take care of environmental matters in all as-
pects of land, water, and air activities has become important. The
General Directorate of Meteorology was established in 1981 as
the central agency. It is responsible for environmental protec-
tion, which includes pollution of all kinds and the establishment
of the different environmental standards [1]. The name of this
agency was recently changed to PME from the Metrology and
Environmental Protection Agency (MEPA).
The PME approach to recording the lightning data depends on
human observation where hearing and seeing thunder and light-
ning are used. An observer is expected to be available around
the clock in all PME stations, and to record lightning and thun-
derstorm (seen or heard). Such observations may be subject to
human errors. Daily data are recorded and monthly reports are
sent to the PME central office in Jeddah.
Real-time monitoring of thunderstorms and lightning can fa-
cilitate the improvement of weather forecasting and this can, for
instance, assist the safe operation of airport control to reduce the
risk of accidents during landing and take off. The reduction of
risk of lightning-triggered incidents at sensitive installations in
the oil and petrochemical industry can also be achieved [5], [7].
Many utilities in the world have justified the cost of lightning
detection network systems based on operation and maintenance
costs. Such acquisition of detection networks is valuable for cor-
relating with transmission and distribution equipment failures
and outages [1], [5], [8]. Only thunderdays data are available
in Saudi Arabia, so there is a clear need to validate such data
to ensure the development of reliable and accurate TD maps.
The PME locations of 28 recording stations are shown in Fig. 1.
PME data have been collected over the past 19 years.
B. Data From Saudi Electric Company (SEC)
SEC outage data were used to identify days in which light-
ning (and, hence, thunder) could be presumed to have occurred
and this identification of thunderdays is part of the validation
of PMEs human observation records. Outage records from the
SEC transmission-line departments were obtained along with
their classifications. SEC outages are usually recorded in real
time by monitoring protection devices installed on their system.
The target was to collect as many complete data records as pos-
sible from different SEC regions.
The outages data usually come in classified tables which con-
tain information on the type of fault, equipment type, date of
1573
Fig. 1. Location of the PME observation stations. (Color version available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.)
fault and restart time, fault area, the circuit on which the fault
occurred, cause of fault and category, duration of fault, and, fi-
nally, the description of cause. In most SEC records, the cate-
gories of cause of faults are classified as: a) equipment problem,
b) relay problem, c) human error, d) known or unknown, e) con-
tact and switching problem, f) weather, and g) lightning.
V. PME DATA VALIDATION AND OUTCOME
A. Use of SEC Outages Data
The validation process involved identification of days on
which lightning occurred. So the SEC records used in this
project were sorted according to each regions classification of
all outages caused by lightning and are as follows.
1) If the fault is clearly classified as being a fault due to light-
ning, the weather conditions data are checked for light-
ning incidence.
2) If the fault is classified as transient, weather conditions
are also checked and, if present, then it will be also taken
as a lightning-caused fault.
3) If faults are classified as weather related, the cause may
include lightning, so the weather conditions are examined
for lightning incidence in the area; it turns out that such
faults are rarely attributed to lightning.
The weather checks were carried out by comparing the atmo-
spheric conditions on the date/time when the SEC outages were
recorded to the PME weather records at the same date/time. If
the weather records indicated lightning and thunderstorm condi-
tions, then this outage was designated as being caused by light-
ning. Otherwise, it was not considered and was ignored. SEC
outages classified as weather related may include many types of
weather effects, such as humidity, fog, rain, and wind, as well
as lightning, and, therefore, most weather-related outages had
to be checked carefully.
1574 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 21, NO. 3, JULY 2006

TABLE I
COMPARISON OF THE PME TD DATA WITH TD IDENTIFIED FROM
SEC OUTAGE DATA (SEE TEXT) (19942004)

A list of the subset of SEC outages attributed to lightning

was established for those SEC regions that had online outage
recording systems. Table I shows the various PME stations
and the annual averaged TD/yr that could be compared with
the average thunderstorm days per year that were identified
from the SEC outage records. For many reasons, such as the
nonavailability of SEC online outages systems in some regions,
records in many locations, such as in ABHA, Al BAHA,
and JIZAN of the south region, MAKKAH and JEDDAH in
Fig. 2. NASA lightning map for Saudi Arabia in 1996. (Color version available
the west region, and TABUK in the north region, were not online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.)
included in the validation process. These exclusions included
the records that contained outage data without any clear fault
classification. TABLE II
COMPARISON OF PME TD DATA WITH TD DERIVED FROM
From Table I, one can conclude that PME TD records are NASA OTD RECORDS (SEE TEXT)
in reasonable agreement with those derived from SEC outage
data. Most PME TD are higher, as would be expected since the
TD records of PME would involve all observed thunder and
lightning, while those of SEC are probably restricted to those
direct lightning flashes that directly hit transmission lines.

B. NASA Optical Transient Detectors Data

NASA has, on its website, worldwide maps of lightning ac-
tivity (approximately contoured) using data from their optical
transient detectors (OTDs) satellite system. This NASA project
was conducted for more than four years and it collected all of the
observable lightning and meteorological data around the globe.
These data are of great value to countries that do not have light-
ning detection systems.
On this website, the map of the world is displayed; data
for any country of interest are accessed simply by clicking on
it and immediately, the country maps the recorded lightning
events,which are displayed in color. To obtain the contoured
lightning data for any area, simply enter the city coordinates
and the number of months required. A typical NASA-OTD map
is shown in Fig. 2. The NASA data provide another source for
validating and ensuring accuracy and consistency of the PME
data.
The OTD data were analyzed on a daily basis to identify the
occurrence of lightning and, hence, thunderstorms at particular
locations [5], [10], and so to produce NASA-detected thunder-
days for comparison with the PME TD data at a selected number
of locations in Saudi Arabia.
The data of NASA-OTD were limited to 4 years from 1996
to 1999. Hence, the comparison with PME data was done for
the same period. Table II presents the comparison between the
PME TD/yr values and those derived from the NASA OTD data.
It is quite clear from the results in the table that TD/yr values
of PME approximately match the TD/yr taken from the NASA
OTD data. This again confirms the validity of PME data for
developing reliable Saudi Arabian TD/yr maps.
C. Mapping and Analysis of the Thunderstorm Days
The lightning data observed and recorded nationally by PME
have been shown to be reliable and of good quality. So mapping
of the TD data from the recording locations in Saudi Arabia can
be made with confidence. The study of previous research on
lightning and thunderday mapping in other countries [8][10]
helped to develop a method for the analysis and observation of
thunderstorm levels and spatial drawings for Saudi Arabia.
SHWEHDI: RELIABLE MAPS OF LIGHTNING THUNDERSTORMS FOR SAUDI ARABIA 1575

TABLE III
TOTAL ANNUAL AND SEASONAL AVERAGE THUNDERDAYS (TD) USING
ALL OF THE AVAILABLE YEARS OF PME DATA

Fig. 3. AlHasa average seasonal TD/yr for 19 years. (Color version available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.)

The PME data were analyzed to produce a gridded field using

Microsoft Office Excel. Microsoft Office Access and statistical
methods were used to massage and to evaluate how to best an-
alyzes the data. The analysis was performed at a spatial grid
resolution of 0.5 0.5 and an 8-point binomial box smoother
were applied to the interpolated grid. This grid was then im-
ported into the Arc/Info geographic information system (GIS)
software.
The annual level of thunderdays per year (TD/yr) was calcu-
lated at each PME location. The average annual TD along with
the total seasonal average lightning flashover are presented in
Table III and are the input data for the simulation GIS software.
As an example, Fig. 3 illustrates one sample bar chart of the in-
cidence of thunderstorms at the AlHasa observation station. The
same was done for other stations where data are sorted out for
all of the four seasons as well as for the year. Table III illustrates
both the seasonal and the annual average thunderday data from
the PME records at all locations.
Using the Arcview GIS package, all of the information tabu-
lated in Table III was formulated and entered to produce various
annual and seasonal TD/yr maps.
A previously demonstrated, the PME TD data have been
shown to be reliable. Therefore, the TD map shown in Fig. 4 is
a reliable description of the total number of thunderstorms days
expected annually in Saudi Arabia, averaged over a number of
years. Fig. 5 shows the highest TD seasonal map, which is in
spring season.
It is obvious that the highest concentration of thunderday
level (TD/yr) during the whole year is located in the southern
mountain regions, such as surrounding the cities of Taif and
Abha, while it is very low in such cities as Jeddah on the shores
of the Red Sea. Also and using the GIS package, the seasonal
averages for the same period were obtained and used to produce
seasonal maps (as in Fig. 5). These maps do not give information
on the intensity of lightning flashes, but they do provide valu-
able data about the relative frequency of thunderstorms and of occur in the inland central and eastern regions. At this time, the
lightning flashes in different regions of Saudi Arabia. Table III number of thunderdays in the other regions are about 38/yr in
also illustrates that overall, the highest average TD/yr occurs in the west, 310/yr in the north, 510/yr in the east, 15/yr in the
the spring, while the lowest average is in the winter. northeast, about 26/yr in the northwest, and about 310/yr in
The PME TD data show that during the winter months, thun- the southwest. However, the southern region has 828 TD/yr
derstorms are most frequent over the southern, eastern, and cen- and the southeast region has about 515/yr. It is interesting to
tral, as well as in the northern and northwestern regions of the note that thunderstorms seem to concentrate around the southern
country. In the summer months (JuneAugust), thunderstorms mountain areas more than other places during all seasons.
1576
Fig. 4. Annual average TD/yr map of Saudi Arabia. (Color version available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.)
VI. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Conclusions
The developed thunderday (TD/yr) maps are reliable and
are the first such maps in the history of Saudi Arabia.
These maps will be of considerable value to PME and to
SEC transmission and distribution line designers.
The annual mean of TD/yr, as well as those for the four
seasons, are presented for all stations.
It is obvious that the highest concentration of thunder-
storms (TD/yr) during the whole year is located in the
southern mountain regions near cities such as Taif, Abha,
and Al Baha, while it is very low on the shores of the Red
Sea, such as in the city of Jeddah.
The average of the annual thunderdays does not exceed 30
in the majority of locations in Saudi Arabia. However, in
some mountainous areas, it reaches about 97 thundersdays
per year, while it is very low, around 9, on the shores of the
Red Sea.
Table III shows that the highest average of the thunderday
level (TD/yr) occurs in the spring while the lowest average
is in the winter.
B. Recommendation
As a final comment, it is suggested that PME and SEC con-
sider the acquisition of lightning data through the establishment
of lightning detector/sensor networks over the whole country.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 21, NO. 3, JULY 2006
Fig. 5. Spring season annual average TD/yr map. (Color version available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.)
This will allow for the cost-effective improvement of light-
ning protection methods in electric power systems in Saudi
Arabia.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author would like to thank the City of King Abdul Aziz
of Science and Technology (KACST) for their support and the
continued support of KFUPM. The author praises his 2004/2005
Capstone projects students who have assisted on this work. The
contributions of Prof. M. Darveniza are acknowledged for sug-
gesting the comparison with NASA OTD data and for editing
this paper. The author also thanks the excellent reviewers of this
manuscript who helped considerably to make it presentable and
publishable.
REFERENCES
[1] IEEE Design Guide for Improving the Lightning Performance of Trans-
mission Lines, IEEE Std. 1243-1997.
[2] (2003). Presidency of Metrological & Environment (PME). [Online].
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[3] Atlas of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Water and Agriculture, 1986.
[4] A. M. Subyani, Geostatistical study of annual and seasonal mean
rainfall patterns in southwest Saudi Aarabia, Hydrological Sci-
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[5] The IEEE Working Group, Guide for Improving Lightning Perfor-
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[6] M. Taha, S. Harb, M. Nagib, and A. Tantawy, The Climate of the Near
East: Climate of the Southern and Western Asia, Takahashi and Arkawa,
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1577
M. H. Shwehdi (S74M85SM90) received the
B.Sc. degree from the University of Tripoli, Tripoli,
Libya, in 1972, the M.Sc. degree in electrical engi-
neering from the University of Southern California,
Los Angeles, in 1975, and the Ph.D. degree in elec-
trical engineering from Mississippi State University,
Mississippi State, in 1985.
He was a consultant to A.B. Chance Company and
Flood Engineering. He has held teaching positions
with the University of Missouri-Columbia; Univer-
sity of Florida, Gainesville; and Pennsylvania State
University, University Park. Currently, he is an Associate Professor with the
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhaharan, Saudi
Arabia. His research interests include power system analysis, power quality and
harmonics, and analysis of overvoltages on power systems.
Dr. Shwehdi is listed as a Distinguished Lecturer with the DLP of the
IEEE/Power Engineering Society DLP and was named and awarded the 2001
IEEE/Power Engineering Society outstanding chapter engineer. He was named
and awarded the 1999 IEEE WG for standard award. He is the IEEE/Power
Engineering Society Saudi Arabia chapter chairman since 1999.