An East Coast Lightning Detection Network

Abstract

A magnetic direction-finding network for the detection of lightning cloud-to-ground strikes has been installed, and it records most of the ground flashes from Maine to North Carolina and as far west as Ohio. This area includes or touches fourteen states and contains over a quarter of the population of the United States. Time, location, flash polarity, stroke count, and peak signal amplitude are recorded in real time. One result of our network is presented for an unusually severe storm (8–9 October 1982) that produced over 11000 ground flashes. The observed cyclone development resembled a class of incipient cyclones with convection near the center, and were forecast poorly by existing operational models.