November 19, 2019

Predicting Lightning Strikes

Listen Later

2 minutes

Lightning is one of the most unpredictable phenomena in nature. Approximately 100 lightning bolts strike earth’s surface every second, and each lightning bolt can contain up to one billion volts of electricity. Lightning regularly kills both people and animals and sets homes and forests on fire. It’s also been known to ground airplanes.

Researchers at EPFL – a research institute and university in

Switzerland – have developed a novel way to predict where and when lightning

will strike. The system relies on a

combination of standard data from weather stations and artificial intelligence

to predict lightning strikes to the nearest 10 to 30 minutes and within a

radius of less than 20 miles. The simple

and inexpensive system was outlined in a research paper recently published in

Climate and Atmospheric Science, a Nature partner journal.

According to researchers, the current systems for predicting lightning

strikes are slow, expensive, and complex, relying on external data acquired by

satellite and radar. The new inexpensive

system from EPFL uses real time data that can be obtained from any weather

station, meaning it can cover remote regions that are out of radar and

satellite range and where communication networks are lacking. The quick predictions from the system allow

alerts to be issued before a storm has even formed.

The system uses a machine-learning algorithm that’s been trained to recognize

conditions that lead to lightning. The

researchers took into account atmospheric pressure, air temperature, relative

humidity, and wind speed, among other things.

After training the algorithm, the system was able to predict lightning

strikes accurately nearly 80% of the time.

This system is a simple way to predict a complex phenomenon.

**********

Web Links

Using AI to predict where and when lightning will strike

Photo, posted December 14, 2018, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

...more

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Earth Wise

By Randy Simon

4.7

1515 ratings

November 19, 2019

Predicting Lightning Strikes

Listen Later

2 minutes

Lightning is one of the most unpredictable phenomena in nature. Approximately 100 lightning bolts strike earth’s surface every second, and each lightning bolt can contain up to one billion volts of electricity. Lightning regularly kills both people and animals and sets homes and forests on fire. It’s also been known to ground airplanes.

Researchers at EPFL – a research institute and university in

Switzerland – have developed a novel way to predict where and when lightning

will strike. The system relies on a

combination of standard data from weather stations and artificial intelligence

to predict lightning strikes to the nearest 10 to 30 minutes and within a

radius of less than 20 miles. The simple

and inexpensive system was outlined in a research paper recently published in

Climate and Atmospheric Science, a Nature partner journal.

According to researchers, the current systems for predicting lightning

strikes are slow, expensive, and complex, relying on external data acquired by

satellite and radar. The new inexpensive

system from EPFL uses real time data that can be obtained from any weather

station, meaning it can cover remote regions that are out of radar and

satellite range and where communication networks are lacking. The quick predictions from the system allow

alerts to be issued before a storm has even formed.

The system uses a machine-learning algorithm that’s been trained to recognize

conditions that lead to lightning. The

researchers took into account atmospheric pressure, air temperature, relative

humidity, and wind speed, among other things.

After training the algorithm, the system was able to predict lightning

strikes accurately nearly 80% of the time.

This system is a simple way to predict a complex phenomenon.

**********

Web Links

Using AI to predict where and when lightning will strike

Photo, posted December 14, 2018, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

...more