Advanced technology that uses lightning flash rates to track storm cells and issue faster, potentially life-saving alerts for severe weather is the focus of a patent granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Earth Networks, the parent company of WeatherBug, received the patent for the technology, which relates to techniques for using the location, speed, direction and intensity of lightning activity to automatically identify and alert geographical areas at risk for severe weather.
The patented technology powers lightning-based alerts, called dangerous thunderstorm alerts (DTAs). DTAs are issued on the WeatherBug app for smartphones, professional enterprise solutions for industries ? such as aviation, oil and gas, mining and electric utilities ? that must manage weather risks, and as data feeds from Earth Networks ? WeatherBug. DTAs, which can improve alert times by 50% over traditional warnings, are currently issued in the US and also internationally within the company's data feeds in areas such as central and South America, Europe, Japan and Australia. Expansion into other geographies is under way.
"Minutes matter when it comes to severe weather," says Earth Networks CEO Bob Marshall. "As extreme weather continues to take a tragic toll, we are dedicated to bringing critical alerts to help save lives and livelihoods worldwide. This patented, lightning-based alerting technology, combined with a public-private partnership approach with government agencies throughout the world, will alert any person with a mobile phone that severe weather is imminent."
The patented technology utilises real-time flash data collected by the largest "total" lightning sensor network in the world ? the Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN). "Total" lightning includes both cloud-to-ground and, importantly, in-cloud lightning. Jumps in total lightning flash rates are used to predict the onset of severe weather, including heavy rain, large hail, dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, tornadoes and downburst winds. When total lightning rates exceed "severe" thresholds, there is an increased threat for severe weather, and dangerous thunderstorm alerts are automatically issued.
The Earth Networks Total Lightning Network monitors total lightning minute-by-minute across the continental US and many other areas, including Brazil, Australia, India, Japan, Turkey, China and West Africa. Data from the ENTLN is used by NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the US Air Force.
