Does tropospheric weather affect HF propagation?
Tropospheric weather conditions, including lightning storms, temperature, humidity, and precipitation, can impact High Frequency (HF) radio propagation, although they are less significant than space or ionospheric conditions.
Tropospheric Effects on HF:- Lightning storm activity in the troposphere produces transient luminous events (TLEs) in the region between the troposphere and the ionosphere. TLEs act as a source of dynamic interference in the ionosphere, making skywave propagation less predictable and potentially affecting the reliability of long-distance radio communication.
- Atmospheric Noise: Lightning storms and other weather events can generate atmospheric noise, which appears as static on HF bands in particular below 10 MHz.
- Antenna Performance: Weather can also affect antenna performance. For example, rain can cause wire antennas to droop, changing their resonant frequency and potentially affecting the signal.
- Overall Impact: Tropospheric effects on HF communication are less impactful than space weather or ionospheric disturbances, and users use techniques like frequency selection and antenna adjustments to mitigate these effects.
The project "Understanding HF Propagation" provides a detailed overview and tutorials on HF propagation.