Preparing Users for the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) on GOES-R

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) series provides the continuity for the existing GOES system currently operating over the Western Hemisphere. The Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) represents an advancement over current GOES by providing an entirely new capability for total lightning detection (cloud and cloud-to-ground flashes) The GLM will map total lightning continuously day and night with near-uniform spatial resolution of 8 km with a product latency of less than 20 sec over the Americas and adjacent oceanic regions. The total lightning is very useful for identifying hazardous and severe thunderstorms, monitoring storm intensification and tracking evolution. Used in tandem with radar, satellite, and surface observations, total lightning data has great potential to increase lead time for severe storm warnings, improve aviation safety and efficiency, and increase public safety. Science and application development along with pre-operational product demonstrations, evaluations, and training at NWS national centers, forecast offices, and NOAA testbeds are preparing forecasters to use GLM as soon as possible after the planned launch and check-out of GOES-R in 2016. New applications will use GLM alone, in combination with the rapid scan imagery, or integrated (fused) with other available tools (weather radar and ground strike networks, nowcasting systems, mesoscale analysis, and numerical weather prediction models) in the hands of the forecaster responsible for issuing more timely and accurate forecasts and warnings.