Abstract
The ”Relámpago del Catatumbo” is a unique phenomenon that occurs over
Lake Maracaibo, where the most intense lightning activity on the planet
takes place. In this work, we extend the study of lightning activity in
Lake Maracaibo and its surroundings by a decade, evaluating the period
from 2014 to 2023. The results show that the hourly distributions of
lightning activity are correlated with the variations of deep convective
events in the region; while, the seasonal variations in lightning
strikes are correlated with the monthly variations in the mean water
temperature of Lake Maracaibo. These findings suggest that the Lake may
be providing the necessary water vapor for the development of storm
systems that form in the region. It was found that the diurnal and
monthly variations of the lightning activity have not changed
substantially over the years, as these variations are, with a high
degree of significance, very similar to those found in the period
2005-2010 by Bürgesser et al. (2012). The analysis of the interannual
variations in lightning strikes for the period does not show any
indication of a systematic increase or decrease in lightning activity;
however, it can be noted that there is an increase in lightning activity
in the last two years analyzed, 2022 and 2023.