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As it's thunder storm season here in the UK, I thought some here may be interested in the following website.
Every second of every day the earth experiences around 100 strikes, which is around 1.4 million strikes per year. And according to the UK Met Office..
The following link will take you to the UK page of Blitzortung.org, But there are pages for other parts of the world too, so no matter where you live it is possible to watch your own local storms in real time.
Click on the top real time maps & then on dynamic maps & this will allow you to zoom in & watch were the strikes are happening down to the nearest few hundred yards.
http://en.blitzortung.org/live_lightning_maps.php?map=12
These maps work via lightning giving off radio signals (interference.) You may have heard the crackle of a lightning strike as you were listening to the radio? These lightning signals are just below the old Longwave broadcast frequencies, but can normally be heard well above that too.
What Blitzortung does is. They have a network of receivers all inked to a central computer & as we know the speed of a radio wave, which is 300,000 meters per second. With 3 or more receivers a computer can pinpoint the strike location. And lightning strike signals travel 100's of Km's, so a few enthusiasts can cover a big geographical area.
The dynamic map allows you to see which receiving stations hear each strike. And a few other fun bits too.
This time of year what I love to do, is watch the storms as they travel across the map. It is also interesting to see just where that storm is, which is lighting up your sky, as it is often 50 to 100 miles away.
Every second of every day the earth experiences around 100 strikes, which is around 1.4 million strikes per year. And according to the UK Met Office..
The following link will take you to the UK page of Blitzortung.org, But there are pages for other parts of the world too, so no matter where you live it is possible to watch your own local storms in real time.
Click on the top real time maps & then on dynamic maps & this will allow you to zoom in & watch were the strikes are happening down to the nearest few hundred yards.
http://en.blitzortung.org/live_lightning_maps.php?map=12
These maps work via lightning giving off radio signals (interference.) You may have heard the crackle of a lightning strike as you were listening to the radio? These lightning signals are just below the old Longwave broadcast frequencies, but can normally be heard well above that too.
What Blitzortung does is. They have a network of receivers all inked to a central computer & as we know the speed of a radio wave, which is 300,000 meters per second. With 3 or more receivers a computer can pinpoint the strike location. And lightning strike signals travel 100's of Km's, so a few enthusiasts can cover a big geographical area.
The dynamic map allows you to see which receiving stations hear each strike. And a few other fun bits too.
This time of year what I love to do, is watch the storms as they travel across the map. It is also interesting to see just where that storm is, which is lighting up your sky, as it is often 50 to 100 miles away.
