Southern Thunder Alliance and

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Southern Thunder Alliance and LMA
Assessments Steve Goodman and Dennis Buechler
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Southern Thunder Alliance

• Bring total lightning data and product producers
  together with the product and decision-making
  consumers
• Form collaborations to advance scientific
  understanding of thunderstorm processes
• Develop and evaluate nowcasting/short-term
  forecasting and warning decision-making
  applications that use total lightning in an
  operational environment

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Southern Thunder Alliance

• NASA-NOAA-University-Industry Partners
• SPoRT Center (NASA MSFC/NSSTC)
• New Mexico Tech and other universities
• OU/NSSL
• Vaisala, Inc.
• WFOs Huntsville (HUN), Nashville (OHX),
  Birmingham (BMX), Fort Worth (FDW), Melbourne
  (MLB), Norman (OUN)
• All LMA systems located in NWS Southern Region
• North Alabama
• OU/NSSL
• New Mexico Tech Langmuir Laboratory
• White Sands Missile Range
• KSC/CCAFS (LDAR)
• TAMU (LDAR II)
• Dallas/Fort Worth (Vaisala LDAR II)

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History of LMA data _at_HUN
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Southern Thunder Workshop 2Fort Worth, Texas
25-27, 2005

• Briefings by Researchers (Owner Operators) and
  Forecasters (End Users) followed by discussion
  and prioritization of lightning research and
  applications in 3 subject focus areas
• Presentations at http//weather.msfc.nasa.gov/spor
  t
• Focus Areas
• Product Definition and Generation
• Lightning Threat Product combining LMA/LDAR and
  NLDN
• Lightning Top Product
• Flash Extent Density (FED)
• Cell Tracking (SCIT) and Trending FSL
  FXnet/WDSSII
• Detection Efficiency, Performance Metrics,
  Accuracy
• WES Cases, Training and Assessments

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WDSSII Display and Interface
Vertical Slice
Vertical Slice
5 km Level LMA
Base Scan Radar

• WDSSII LMA source density X-scns, CAPPIs
• VILMA 1 min density to AWIPS at OUN, TSA, FWD

NSSL/MacGorman, Stumpf
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CG lightning hazard

• LDAR II Sources (Red) and NLDN Flashes (Black)
  detected between 031230 and 031730 UTC 15 June
  2001

• Fort Worth WSR-88D Base Reflectivity Image from
  0315 UTC 15 June 2001

Isolated CG Lightning Threat
High CG Lightning Threat
Vaisala/Demetriades
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FED and NLDN at 2114 UTC, 25 April 2005
Vaisala/Demetriades
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CG Lightning Hazard ProductCombination Of LDAR
II And NLDN Data - Mesoscale Convective System
Blue - Total lightning Red - CG lightning
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60 min of CG lightning prior to 1515 Z on 17 Aug
2001
Vaisala/Demetriades
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60 min of LDAR II activity prior to 1515 Z on 17
Aug 2001
Vaisala/Demetriades
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Spider flash at 1515 Z on 17 Aug 2001Lightning
warning at DFW was no longer in effect when this
occurred
Vaisala/Demetriades
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Illustration of conceptyellow represents threat
area, red is where CGs are currently occurring
Vaisala/Demetriades
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Experimental Lightning Threat ProductCombining
NALMA and NLDN
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Southern Thunder Workshop 2Fort Worth, Texas
25-27, 2005
One of the Workshop Recommendations Due to
cancellation of VORTEX-II Experiment in 2007,
pursue newly available opportunity to deploy,
evaluate, and assess the scientific and
technological merits of total lightning mapping
with the NMT portable LMA in an additional
operational setting.

• Proposed DC Metro Area Lightning Mapping
  Demonstration
• Briefing 26 August to NWS Office of Science and
  Technology and Eastern Region Scientific
  Services Division
• WFO Sterling (LWX) host site, NWS MDL Program
  Mgr
• Endorsement of Director D. L. Johnson, National
  Weather Service
• NWS requesting funds from NESDIS GOES-R
• Additional area partners (Howard University, U.
  Maryland, GSFC)

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Severe Storm Reports for the DC Surrounding Area
1999-2004
Severe Reports 235 Tornadoes 3291 SVR Wind 1353
Hail
Map of all severe reports received during a 5
year period (12Z 31 Dec 1999 - 12Z 31 Dec 2004)
for a region around Washington, DC. The plot
shows 235 tornadoes,  3291 severe winds gusts (GE
55 kt or compatible damage, blue ), and 1353 ¾
inch or larger hail reports (green dot).
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Circles 150 km radius (approx. 3D coverage)
250 km radius (approx. max range)
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Southern Thunder Workshop 2Fort Worth, Texas
25-27, 2005

• Why DC Metro Area
• Transitional climatic regime, yet still many
  severe storms
• Coverage of 3 major heavily used airports
• Complex terrain to west, urban environment
• Sterling WFO history of supporting new
  technology assessments
• Leverage with on-going TDWR evaluations
• Proximity of MDL developers to WFO forecasters
• Access to students, faculty for system
  operations/maintenance
• Local interest (broadcast community,
  researchers, forecasters)

• DC Demo Leverages Alliance Partner Investments
• NASA (TRMM Mission Extension, LIS Validation,
  Applied Sciences, AMU)
• NSF (New Mexico Tech portable LMA development,
  Texas AM LDAR II)
• OU/NSSL (WDSSII)
• Vaisala (LDARII, IRAD)
• WSMR/NCAR RAP Autonowcaster (Army 4DWX)