A lightning prediction system is a type of lightning detection equipment that determines when atmospheric conditions likely to produce

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an avera ...

strikes and sounds an alarm, warning those nearby that lightning is imminent and giving them the chance to find safety before the storm arrives in the area. Lightning protection systems are often installed in outdoor areas which are often congested with people, lack sufficient shelter, and are difficult to evacuate quickly (such as

water parks A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other ba ...

, college campuses, and large swimming pool or

athletic field A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term ''pitch'' is most commonly used in British English, while the comparable term in American and Canadian English is playing field or sports field. For most sports t ...

complexes). These locations are particularly dangerous during lightning storms. Prediction systems are prone to false alarms as they respond to conditions that are not always attributed to a developing thunderstorm. Electric field data is typically used in conjunction with detection information to limit false positives.

Description

The detection equipment is designed to constantly survey atmospheric electrical activity and potential for lightning occurrence via

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

and other methods. Storms are scanned by radar to determine the degree of electrification and potential for lightning occurrence. The method used by such systems includes the stationing of at least three receivers at known locations in order to

triangulate In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points. Applications In surveying Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle me ...

their data. When any of the receivers detects a strong electrical disturbance, the location is shared with other receivers in the area for corroboration, and then (presuming the data has passed the filters), encoded and transmitted to a central facility and thereafter processed for deriving the position of the lightning strike. By detecting thunderstorm electrical fields, a track can be predicted to allow warnings as early as 30 minutes before lightning strikes the protected area. The system is synchronized with the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

LORAN LORAN, short for long range navigation, was a hyperbolic radio navigation system developed in the United States during World War II. It was similar to the UK's Gee system but operated at lower frequencies in order to provide an improved range u ...

navigation network, and includes various features which permit a more accurate analysis of lightning position. While some systems require manual remote activation of the

siren Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wisc ...

from the central monitoring facility, others work automatically. These systems can also sound an "All Clear" tone when electrical activity in the monitored area has receded to safe levels. This feature eliminates both the need for skilled monitoring of the system as well as the chance for

human error Human error refers to something having been done that was " not intended by the actor; not desired by a set of rules or an external observer; or that led the task or system outside its acceptable limits".Senders, J.W. and Moray, N.P. (1991) Human ...

in interpreting the data.

Description

See also