Lightning during one of Arizona’s powerful monsoon storms can be beautiful to look at but, on average, two people a year die in Arizona from lightning.
In an effort to try to track this weather phenomenon, a new lightning detection network has been installed around our state.
Using a low-cost computer and camera, Daile Zhang created a network to record high-speed video of lightning.
Lightning detection: Where Arizona lands in number of strikes
“We use these video data to evaluate the other lightning sensors including NOAA satellites and GOES lighting maps,” said Zhang.
The network of cameras stretches across the state of Arizona with two in Phoenix, one in Flagstaff, and one in Tucson. All put into place just before monsoon season when Arizona gets some of its most spectacular lightning activity. The video will collect “ground truth” or real lightning in real-time.
“Since it's high speed, we can see the individual subprocesses in the lightning flash,” said Zhang.
Studying the individual strokes by tracking the continuing current, it's a process that lasts only a tenth of a millisecond but transfers a large charge between the cloud and the ground.
“Those strokes have the potential to initiate wildfires, we want to get a better understanding of those strokes,” said Zhang.
The cameras will be in Arizona for the next two years while also helping create the next generation of satellites.
