Would the creation of a mile-round reservoir draw more severe weather and lightning to the area?

Question

After my family built a mile-round reservoir to irrigate our surrounding rice fields, we all noticed an increase in lightning strikes. In fact, lightning struck our house (less than a quarter mile away) and caused it to partially burn. Since I've heard bodies of water can draw more rain, I was just wondering.

Answer 1

Yes, and no. A mile round reservoir isn't that big so I'm not sure exactly how intense any affects it will have are going to be. It is true that bodies of water can draw more rain. However, there should not be any change in the rate of lightning strikes per thunderstorm. It may now rain more frequently on your farm, thus more lightning, but the fresh water in your reservoir will not act to attract more lightning than would be expected during any other thunderstorm. To avoid the extra rain caused by your reservoir it would be best situated downwind of your home.

Answer 2

I am sorry, I don't agree. This large body of water will probably cause fog but nothing else.

Thunderstorms happen when the air is unstable; i.e. when the temperature gradient with altitude is under that of the dry adiabatic cooling. We are talking about huge source of heat under or very cold polar air on the top.

Here, in Norway, we have thousands of lake the size, and larger than your reservoir and it doesn't influence rain or thunderstorms. However, the mountains do, due to the orographic uplifting of the air masses.

About the lightning striking your house, it is just bad luck and it has certainly nothing to do with the trees you may have cleared.

A scientific survey shows that if you are in the middle of the sea with sailboat and an aluminum mast, the chances it will be hit by a lightning bolt is as great as if lightning was to hit the water in a radius of the mast height. If the mast is earthed, i.e. in electrical contact with the sea, the radius is then one and half the height of the mast.

Answer 3

That is too small to make any serious changes.

HOWEVER, when you cleared the land for the lake, you removed many "lightning magnet" trees.  Therefore, your house is left as the biggest object around, and is the natural target for lightning.

Bodies of weater must be HUGE to draw more rain -- like the Great Lakes.

But even small bodies of water store and release heat energy.  If your lake "bakes" on a hot July day, then a line of storms comes through, the lake will cool more slowly.  The will be some sort of updraft off the lake, and that COULD make some small effect on the weather around your house -- like how hard the wind blows.

Cities -- with massive ammounts of parking lots -- will have a similar effect.  I've hear it proposed that tornadoes will often "jump" cities and towns (due to updrafts from heated parking lots) then land on the next village or burgh.