Why ultra-precise lightning and thunderstorm monitoring pays off
6 reasons highlighting the value of professional lightning data
Whenever a general overview of a thunderstorm situation is required, let us tell you: don’t pay for it – it’s available for free! If you want to know if there currently is lightning activity around e.g. greater London, you can check that on several free weather apps etc.
However, there are many professional use-cases that call for the highest precision in detection accuracy as well as for the most reliable short-term prediction (so-called ‘nowcasting’) of the lightning situation within the next 10 to 60 minutes.
These are the cases where every little bit in accuracy counts. Superficial thunderstorm information is out of place. Here, every single stroke of a lightning burst (or lightning flash = what can be observed with the bare eye) is of interest, as one stroke can, for instance, be the cause for failure in a power transmission-line.
Professional lightning data is especially vital for
- Energy providers
- Aviation
- Insurance companies
- National weather services
- Private weather services
- Mining and drilling operations
- Outdoor events /sports events
- Scientific institutions
- Fire fighters
- Telecommunication and other infrastructure providers
- The Military
Only based on the highest precision data, meaningful instant lightning-related decision support is of help to people in charge of safety and/or efficiency of operations and situations in various public and private entities, departments or companies.
As lightning is not only a very dangerous but also spontaneous and fast-moving atmospheric event, life-saving and/or operational decisions should be subject to real-time and most exact information.
So, here are 6 major reasons to go with the highest possible quality in lightning data only:
1) Responsibility
Obviously, if you are in charge of a weather-related business, operation or safety of any kind, you probably want to make your decisions based on the best possible solutions
2) Reliability
Data for decision making needs to be of highest reliability, as the decision may affect many people/situations in very different ways. Therefore, the basis for such decisions is of utmost importance and will probably be questioned afterwards.
3) Avoiding Aversion
We all know it from car-burglar-alarms: If the sound goes off way too often, people will get annoyed and will just ignore it.
In order to have people listen and comply with important warnings like lightning-alerts, there must not be significant false alarms. Again: only with the highest and most reliable data quality, an aversion-effect can be best avoided.
4) The Chain of Data
Lightning data will often be further integrated into and modelled in other systems/calculations etc. Consequently, the quality of such further modelling etc. depends on the initial quality of the input data. Ergo: The better the input, the better the output.
5) Savings
The aim of all such decision making is savings. Whether it is lives, costs, time or something else: precision and reliability are essential.
6) Performance
Finally, every system and operation is measured by its performance. Lightning detection or lightning data is no exception here. The Performance of such systems and the produced data is evaluated mainly by four KPIs, namely:
- Location Accuracy (precision of stroke locations)
- Detection Efficiency (number of captured strokes)
- Reliability/Validity (number of false detections or missed detections)
- Speed/Uptime (Availability of the system and the produced data)
In view of these six major reasons, it becomes instantly clear where the differences between general thunderstorm information and ultra-precise, professional lightning detection lie. For anyone in charge of weather and/or specifically lightning-affected operations and associated decision making, precise stroke data and particularly a reliable short-term forecasting is the crucial basis for professional and confident assessment.
About nowcast
Nowcast is the global quality leader in professional, ultra-high-precision lightning detection. Weather services, insurances, energy providers, telecommunication providers and Aviation are the major customer groups of nowcast.
Weather dependent clients turn to nowcast, when …
… seeking a most reliable thunderstorm decision making tool/basis
… urging to increase safety for outdoor personnel and operations
… the current supplier of Lightning Detection Data is not able to deliver the necessary accuracy
… looking for the highest reliability in thunderstorm short-term forecasting (nowcasting) to dispatch accurate warnings in good time
… wishing for a supplier of Lightning Data, who offers a true partnership-approach with flexible cooperation-models
Therefore, we provide excellent, science-based technology, leading to best-in-class accuracy and detection efficiency. All this, we bring to life with a low amount of highly sensitive 3D-sensors covering large areas, free of maintenance and operating for decades 24/7.
Nowcast constantly grows and continues to lead in quality because you’ ll find out, that we are indeed very different from the rare alternatives:
- We do one thing and one thing only: Lightning Detection!
- We are no anonymous, complicated enterprise, interested in numbers only
- We aim at true partnership, rather than quick sales
- We offer all kinds of cooperation-models to fit different needs (equipment sales, data services, revenue-sharing …)
- We ensure optimum results for our customers by deploying sophisticated and patented features like 3D-LF-Detection
- Our customers enjoy the low cost-of-ownership, based on our maintenance-free sensors that run on and on, and are supported over time
- Our customers are highly satisfied and regularly confirm the partnership, for we do not leave “burned ground” behind
- Our customers get the quality needed to thrive and achieve beyond the expectations
- We take our business personal and act like we depend on every single partnership
