Summary The National Lightning Detection Network, NLDN, consists of over 100 remote, ground-based sensing stations located across the United States that instantaneously detect the electromagnetic signals given off when lightning strikes the earth's surface. ... These remote sensors send the raw data via a satellite-based communications network to the Network Control Center operated by Vaisala Inc. in Tucson, Arizona. Within seconds of a lightning strike, the NCC?s central analyzers process information on the location, time, polarity, and amplitude of each strike. The lightning information is then communicated to users across the country.
REAL TIME / ARCHIVE DATA ------------------------
Lightning data collected by the NLDN is available for use in two different categories, real time and archive. Real time data subscribers receive live, second-by-second data on lightning activity within their own designated area of application, up to and including the 48 contiguous states.
The NLDN's vast archive data library contains over 160 million flashes from 1989 to the present. Data can be provided in ASCII format for analysis on a users' own workstation, or provided in packed binary formats for display and analysis via GAI display software. Analytical services and reports produced by trained GAI personnel are also available for tailored historical studies or specific geographical evaluations.
FLASH / STROKE DATA -------------------
Flash data provides information such as the time, location, polarity, and amplitude of each lightning flash. Recent studies, however, have shown there can be as many as 20 return strokes in a flash. Further, approximately half of the flashes contain subsequent strokes that terminate at more than one location. The mean separation of these strike points averages 2km, with a maximum separation of approximately 7km.
Stroke data, available since January 1, 1995, refines and expands on flash data by recording characteristics of each detected subsequent stroke. The stroke data set provides such detail that a whole new level of analyses and in-depth lightning exposure investigations can now be performed. Lightning damage or exposure studies require this information for an accurate assessment of lightning activity.
CUSTOM DISPLAY SOFTWARE -----------------------
NLDN data is accessible to subscribers through various DOS, Windows, or Unix-based display and analytical software. These programs are high performance graphical systems designed for effective interpretation and analysis of lightning information. Real time lightning data is received for display via satellite broadcast and dial-up telephone communications. Archived lightning data can be obtained on diskette from the NLDN, or archived on site by a user through custom software. Lightning data can be displayed in contour or other formats to identify high-risk areas, and can be color-coded or animated to track developing storms.
Dataset Creator:
Vaisala GAI, Inc.
Dataset Title:
The U.S. National Lightning Detection Network Database (NLDN)
Dataset Release Place:
Tuscon, AZ, USA
Online Resource:
http://thunderstorm.vaisala.com
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