The
show is amazing; sporadic bright flashes of light illuminating the sky. It can
be unpredictable, but advanced research happening in our own backyard will make
lightning easier to predict.
Dr.
Richard Orville at Texas A&M has created a new advancement to his National
Lightning Detection Network.
At the
moment, the current National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) serves the contiguous
48 states, monitoring lightning 24 hours a day. Not only does this network
detect cloud to cloud lighting, but cloud to ground lightning in 30 minute
cycles. However, Dr. Orville created a devise that will speed up the process
and make it more reliable.
Dr.
Orville explains, “Now that has been upgraded within the last year, so it’s a
very reliable network. It’s a Lightning Mapping Array; it detects all
electrical discharge from lightning….So we are plotting and making available on
the Internet the locations of lightning really in 15 - 20 minutes before
lightning comes to ground."
What
makes this Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) so special is that it is 100%
reliable, because it uses solar panels for power, as well as a wireless signal
to collect and report the data. Furthermore, lightning flashes can now be
detected on average 15 minutes sooner, and in turn allow additional lead time,
and help meteorologists forecast more accurately.
Despite
one lone sensor in Bryan, it works together with a larger network in Houston,
monitoring the entire Brazos Valley.
There
are no current plans to expand this network, but Dr. Orville notes that larger
metropolitan areas will likely see these new devises first when the time comes.
With
this new research in place, we may now know if lightning really does strike
twice.
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