Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

An interagency working group on lightning threat warning

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5016019

In a lightning environment, it is desirable to experience a thunderstorm without sustaining serious physical or economic loss. Properly implemented and maintained protection techniques go a long way toward minimizing or eliminating losses. However, activities that cannot be pracitcally protected must be temporarily curtailed during a lightning hazard period. Thus, some method for sensing the onset and departure of the hazard is required. Untimely curtailment or resumption of activities can place personnel and equipment in jeopardy, or result in excessive, and expensive, downtime. False alarms are equally undesirable. Presently, this need for a lightning warning system can be partially met through the use of a cloud-to-ground lightning detection and tracking system. Several manufacturers are installing these systems and the Federal government is seeking to coordinate them into a nationwide network. However, these systems do not provide lightning threat (pre-first-strike) warning. Techniques and equipment for producting such warnings exist, but until recently there has been no unified effort to consolidate the knowledge, standardize the requirements, and identify the problems of the various users. This paper will briefly describe the formation of an interagency working group which intends to specifically address such issues. 4 refs.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
5016019
Report Number(s):
UCRL-98006; CONF-880493-2; ON: DE88009828
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English