Lightning from space: Satellite promises a 'quantum leap' in forecasting

[EC]

Every second, dozens of bolts of lightning crack across the sky with flashes that can reach of 50,000 degrees — five times as hot as the surface of the sun. Pinpointing exactly where and when lightning strikes the Earth holds a key for forecasting severe weather outbreaks.

Now, for the first time, a new satellite instrument is giving forecasters their best views ever of these dangerous bolts.

The new images, released Monday, come from the Geostationary Lightning Mapper, an instrument onboard the recently launched GOES-16 satellite that can take a whopping 500 pictures a second, said engineer Tim Gasparrini of Lockheed Martin, which designed and built it.

The spectacular images will help meteorologists increase lead times for severe storm warnings. It's "a quantum leap in forecasting severe weather such as tornadoes," Gasparrini said.

The instrument is "transmitting data never before available to forecasters," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.

The mapper,  the first lightning detector in a geostationary orbit, continually looks for lightning flashes in the Western Hemisphere.

It takes photos not only of the lightning bolts that hit the Earth, but also the bolts that go between or within clouds, which are actually more common and a precursor of cloud-to-ground strikes. "It will show the lightning activity at the tops of the clouds," said Steve Goodman, a NOAA program scientist.

More, plus neat video: http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2017/03/06/lightning-detection-satellite/98778554/

@jmyrlefuller  Myrle - something of interest for you.

[Elderberry]

"It's "a quantum leap in forecasting severe weather such as tornadoes," Gasparrini said."

I pray this helps save lives.

[Suppressed]

I love https://www.lightningmaps.org
It's fascinating to watch a storm march along.

[catfish1957]

I love https://www.lightningmaps.org
It's fascinating to watch a storm march along.

Just think how much further along the field of meteorology would be if a number of Congressional and NOAA pencil d--k's hadn't wasted so many resources on AGW.

[Elderberry]

I love https://www.lightningmaps.org
It's fascinating to watch a storm march along.

Back when it was legal to "Drink and Drive", I spent many a summer evening driving toward the Heat Lightning Light Show.
And practicing side-arming beer cans at mail boxes. Now my dad could loft his can over the car and smack the mailbox.

[jmyrlefuller]

I'm very excited about GOES-16 and the capabilities, in no small part because the current GOES-East is broken.

We've had ground-based lightning detection from the private sector for a number of years now. Unfortunately only those willing to pay for it have been able to access most of the data so far. It'll be interesting to see how GOES-16's approach compares to the private sector data.

That, and I'm glad that scientists are starting to incorporate lightning data into the models and explore the correlation between its frequency and upper-air conditions. Right now, without it, we're limited to weather balloons (which only happen twice a day and are far too sparse to handle most smaller phenomena) and remote sensing, which GOES-16 will also improve. Real-time lightning frequency monitoring, and a method to incorporate that into the models, is going to improve forecasting exponentially... at least in theory.

Thanks for the ping @EC

[Suppressed]

I'm very excited about GOES-16 and the capabilities, in no small part because the current GOES-East is broken.

I feel so old.  I recall watching the GOES-C (later, GOES 3) launch from a NASA viewing reception room, in June 1978.     

The progress the program has made gives me joy in this time of political messes.

[catfish1957]

I feel so old.  I recall watching the GOES-C (later, GOES 3) launch from a NASA viewing reception room, in June 1978.     

The progress the program has made gives me joy in this time of political messes.

When I was a kid of about 12, I can remember the weatherman stating that they expected Hurricane Camille to make landfall somewhere between Mobile and Freeport.  Talk about quantum leaps in forecasting.