Rain-yield per flash calculated from TRMM PR and LIS data and its relationship to the contribution of tall convective rain

Rain-yields per flash (RPF) over the entire tropics were calculated from 3 years of data collected by a Lightning Imaging Sensor ( LIS) and a Precipitation Radar ( PR) housed onboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. The results confirm that RPF is a reliable indicator of precipitation regimes, with a marked land - ocean contrast and intermediate values over monsoonal regions and continental oceans. Mean RPF values averaged over the entire TRMM region are 3.94 x 10(8) kg fl(-1) over land and 1.96 x 10(9) kg fl(-1) over oceans. A good (- 0.55) correlation between RPF and the Tall Convective Rain Contribution with a threshold of - 20 degC (TCRC - 20C) was found especially over land. This result indicates that large amounts of tall convective rain are fundamentally associated with intense updrafts that are able to sustain vigorous lightning activity. The correlation is weaker over ocean, except for that over continental oceans.