Fourth Symposium on Fire and Forest Meteorology

Wednesday, 14 November 2001: 9:20 AM
Development of lightning climatology information over the western U.S
Beth L. Hall, DRI, Univ. of Nevada, Reno, NV; and T. J. Brown
Poster PDF (241.3 kB)
Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning climatology products have previously been developed for Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Northern California using the 12-year (1985 - 1996) Automated Lightning Detection System (ALDS) dataset. The National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN, Global Atmospherics, Inc.) has archived lightning data for the U.S. from 1990 through 2000. This project combines the two datasets in an effort to increase the overall period of record used in the development of lightning climatology products for wildfire management. Due to differences between the two datasets, a correction factor was applied to both the NLDN data prior to 1996 and the entire ALDS dataset in an effort to correct for efficiency detection and to make the datasets more compatible with each other. Monthly and hourly-by-month climatology products were developed for a 0.25 degree grid over the western United States. Graphical displays of the products will be made available to fire management agencies.

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