The Thunderstorm Electrification and Lightning Experiment (TELEX) observed a high-precipitation tornadic supercell on 29 May 2004. The Oklahoma Lightning Mapping Array detected lightning in the anvil extending over one hundred kilometers away from the core of the supercell. Though lightning has been previously observed in anvils, typically this lightning is initiated in or near the core of the storm and extends out into the anvil. In the 29 May 2004 storm, however, some flashes actually initiated in the anvil region and the subsequent leaders progressed back towards the core of the storm. Some of these flashes were negative cloud-to-ground flashes that initiated over 50 km away from the core and struck ground beneath the anvil close to the initiation point. We hypothesize that interaction between the anvil of this supercell and a somewhat lower anvil of opposite polarity from a weaker left-moving cell to the north was responsible for initiating this lightning.
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