SBC Session 273: The SPoRT Lightning Safety Product

Due to NOAA privacy requirements, the presenter’s face has been blurred throughout the recording. As the Privacy Act Statement (PAS) does not extend to third-party individuals, we are unable to record or store the likeness of non-NOAA participants. Session Preview: Common guidelines for lightning safety include moving inside a substantial structure at the first sight of threatening skies or the first sound of thunder, and waiting 30 minutes after the last lightning flash or thunder before returning outside. Using this guidance as a framework, scientists at the NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) center have developed the Lightning Stoplight tool to aid in decision making for time on return to operations or outdoor activities. This tool uses the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) Flash Extent Density (FED) imagery and couples it with ground based lightning network commonly used for decision support to display the location and recency of lightning flashes. To simplify interpretation, these lightning pixels are color-coded in 10-minute bins, ranging from red (lightning detected 0 to 10 minutes ago) to yellow (10 to 20 minutes ago) to green (20 to 30 minutes ago). The Stoplight is available in the NASA SPoRT Lightning Viewer, which allows users to place markers at the location of outdoor events with range rings around the location to help in assessing the location and relative age of lightning flashes near and upstream of the event. Stoplight is also available within GR2Analyst and will soon be available within AWIPS. The goal is to help NWS forecasters, emergency management, and the public partners with the necessary information to make the best decisions possible for returning to activities when thunderstorms are present. About the Presenters: Dr. Christopher Schultz is a research scientist at Marshall Space Flight Center whose focus is understanding how and why clouds electrify and then using that knowledge for applications like safety and hazard prediction for severe storms, hurricanes, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions. Chris works within the NASA Short-Term Prediction and Research Transition (SPoRT) Center and the Atmospheric Electricity teams at the Marshall Space Flight Center where he has spanned research and operations over the last 20 years of his career. Dr. Schultz is a council member on the National Lightning Safety Council and has served on NOAA’s Total Lightning Working Group and GLM Science Teams for the last 15 years of his career. Kelley Murphy works at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), primarily focused on research regarding lightning science, lightning risk and safety, and air quality. Kelley supports the NASA Short-Term Prediction and Research Transition (SPoRT) Center and their Engagement, Training, and Assessment (ETA) team to co-develop with and transition products to end-users. Also assisting with other NASA programs such as the Satellite Needs Working Group (SWNG) and FireSense, Kelley’s efforts live at the intersection of research to operations and applied science.