Some climatological features of thunderstorms at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode airports

The average monthly frequency of thunderstorms, its annual and monthly frequency of duration, time of commencement and frequency of thunderstorms in relation to duration and time of commencement at three aerodrome stations of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode have been presented in this paper. It is found that thunderstorm activity is maximum in pre-monsoon months at Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi and in post monsoon months at Kozhikode. Majority of the thunderstorms are of duration less than three hours and have a preference to commence between 9 and 18 UTC in all stations whereas long duration thunderstorms generally commence between 9 and 15 UTC.