Lightning Detection

Lightning Detection

ALDARS: The Automatic Lightning Detection and Reporting System. This is part of the ASOS/AWOS weather observing systems. For a listing of ALDARS sites (valid as of April 7, 2000) Click Here.

ASOS Lightning Detection: Provided by the National Weather Service's Training Center.

Includes information about the Lightning Sensor, as part of the National Weather Services Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS).

Forte: An experimental, space-based, lightning detection system developed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. The Forte project includes a small spacecraft and a satellite operations center. One set of goals is to record optical flashes and radio frequency emissions generated by lightning storms in order to correlate lightning flash rates with precipitation rates. The Forte spacecraft was launched into obit on Aug. 29, 1997.

Lightning, Facts on (I): This NOAA brochure (in "pdf" format), titled "Thunderstorms...Tornadoes...Lightning," provided by the National Weather Service's Office of Climate, Water and Weather Services in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Another NOAA brochure, including similar information on lightning, can be found by Clicking Here.

Note: It may take a minute for these brochures to load, so be patient.

Lightning, Facts on (II): This site provided by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.

Includes assorted information on lightning in concise, brochure-like form.

Lightning, Facts on (III): This site provided by the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman,Oklahoma.

Includes assorted information on lightning in concise, brochure-like form.

Lightning Data, operational use of: This site provided by the National Weather Service Training Center, and includes information on lightning safety, lightning theories and lightning detection systems.

Lightning, Resources on: This site provided by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.

This site contains a plethora of links to various resources on lightning, including an impressive set of links to a number of lightning research papers.

Lightning Sensors, space-based: This site provided by the Global Hydrology and Climate Center (GHCC), which is a joint venture between government and academia based in Huntsville, Alabama.

The Lightning and Atmospheric Electricity Research Group, works to determine the electrical characteristics of storms and precipitation, convection and severe weather. Part of this research involves the use of space-based lightning detection systems such as:; (1) The Lightning Imaging Sensor (I) and

(2) The Lightning Imaging Sensor (II) and

(2) Optical Transient Detector

Lightning Detection, the value of Real-time: This site provided by NASA'S Marshall Space Flight Center and includes a discussion of the value of developing lightning detection systems for global surveilence.

Lightning Detection, Archived Data Sets of: This webpage lists various lightning data sets that are archived and available for perusal free of charge. This data is cataloged by the Global Hydrology Resource Center (GHRC). Some datasets also have additional software packages available. Information on these software packages is in the documentation provided by the GHRC.

Lightning Detection, Tutorial (I) on: This site provided by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, and includes an interesting discussion of the history of lightning detection, as well as the causes and characteristics of lightning.

This same tutorial can also be accessed through the Global Hydrology and Climate Center.

Lightning Detection, Tutorial (II) on: This site provided by the National Weather Service Training Center, and includes a map of NLDN lightning sensor locations in the U.S. and a discussion on lightning sensor types.

Lightning Meteorology,Tutorial on: This site provided by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, located at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.

An excellent tutorial which includes discussion on lightning production processes and the correlation between lightning production and thunderstorm precipitation intensity. Consists of a series of slides that can be advanced by simply using the "Next" button on the right side of the page.

CIRA is a center for international cooperation in research and training, covering virtually all physical, economic and societal aspects of weather and climate. CIRA's principal interests include: applications of meteorological satellite imagery, air quality, visibility, mesoscale studies, forecasting, agricultural meteorology, cloud physics, and atmospheric model evaluation.

Lightning Variability in the United States,Tutorial on: This site provided by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, located at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.

An excellent tutorial which includes discussion on the National Lightning Detection Network and characteristics of cloud-to-ground lightning activity in the contiguous United States from 1995 to 1997. Consists of a series of slides that can be advanced by simply using the "Next" button on the right side of the page.

CIRA is a center for international cooperation in research and training, covering virtually all physical, economic and societal aspects of weather and climate. CIRA's principal interests include: applications of meteorological satellite imagery, air quality, visibility, mesoscale studies, forecasting, agricultural meteorology, cloud physics, and atmospheric model evaluation.