Abstract: Using the long-term series of Changsha and Changde Doppler weather radar products from March to August of 2011-2019, and the manual recording of thunderstorms at Yueyang Observation Station, the spatial distribution characteristics and seasonal, monthly, and daily changes of thunderstorms in East Dongting Lake and adjacent urban areas have been analyzed. Results indicate that: (1) Higher frequency of thunderstorm activity in east but lower in west, and higher in urban but lower on the lake surface in East Dongting Lake and adjacent urban areas, the junction of the lake and the land city center is the high incidence area of thunderstorm activity compared to the rest of the lake. (2) The highest frequency of thunderstorms appears in June, the frequency of thunderstorm activities at the junction of the lake and the land city center is significantly higher than that of other places on the lake in May, June and August. (3) The development of thunderstorms shows significant daily changes, thunderstorms during the night are more frequent than that during the day, showing obvious bimodal characteristics. There are differences in the conversion time of thunderstorm fluctuations between the lake and the urban land, nearly 1 to 2 hours in advance on the lake. (4) Under good temperature and humidity conditions, vertical wind shear is an important factor affecting local thunderstorm activities. Urban thunderstorms respond faster to vertical wind shear than the lake, the junction of the lake and the city center is more prone to thunderstorms than other locations on the lake.