Engineering Physics Annotation << Back On the possibility of atmospheric vortex generation at the lightning discharge O.A. Sinkevich, V.A. Blinova The possibilities of generation and amplification of the local atmospheric vortex at the lightning discharge are investigated. The analysis of the origin and development of helical instability in the channel of a lightning strike are carried out. The dependences of the instability criterion on the lightning current are obtained. The characteristic times of instability, and gain perturbations, when the electric current density and radius of the channel change little during the lightning discharge are calculated. It was found that the most probable mechanism of vortices generation might be a helical instability, induced by the magnetic field of the discharge current flowing through the lightning channel. The mechanism of vortices generation associated with the Joule heating of moist air during the lightning discharge is discussed. Key words: lightning, vortex discharge, instability, growth rate. E-mail: oleg.sinkevich@itf.mpei.ac.ru. Р. 26-33.