www.isleofwightweather.co.uk - UK Storm Detection and Sferics |
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NexStorm Screen Snapshot of UK Thunderstorms currently under observation | ||||||||||||||||
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Current UK Lightning and Thunderstorm activity | ||||||||||||||||
At the beginning of August 2014 we upgraded to an even faster dedicated server, with a faster data connection to improve our free service. If you have fun when you are watching, please feel free to make a small donation to help us keep StormVue and TSentry running. | ||||||||||||||||
We share our data with the Blitzortung community based lightning detection network | ||||||||||||||||
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Isle of Wight Weather Satellite Images | ||||||||||||||||
TRAC Report of thunderstorms currently under observation | ||||||||||||||||
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Key to types of lightning recorded | ||||||||||||||||
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Analysis of recorded lightning and thunderstorm data across the United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||
Click the above image to view tabular data generated from the archived data files collected by our Astrogenic NexStorm Software. These tables are created automatically using discharge V1.10 software written by Daniël van Os. |
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Join our TSentry Thunderstorm Alert List | ||||||||||||||||
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Astrogenic Systems StrikeStar EU lightning detection network | ||||||||||||||||
The Isle of Wight Weather Station is a member of the StrikeStar EU community based lightning detection network. Data is uploaded to a central server, and triangulated with data from other members of the community to increase the accuracy of plotted data. Click on the logo above to see that data. |
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What are Sferics? | ||||||||||||||||
Atmospheric discharges. We can’t hear it without special equipment, but the planet almost continually sings with the sound of low-frequency radio signals that derive from lightning strikes. Because the signals are mostly trapped below the ionosphere, a reflective layer 55 miles above the ground, a suitable receiver can pick them up from thousands of miles away. They sound like twigs snapping or bacon frying. This weird-looking term for them, sferics, is just a respelled version of the last part of atmospherics. The abbreviation appeared around 1940, though the strange noises had first been heard by a German physicist, Heinrich Barkhausen, during World War I. There’s a complete vocabulary of words to describe various types: tweeks come from lightning that is so far away that the high radio frequencies arrive before the low, resulting in a musical set of clicks and tweets; whistlers are slowly descending tones caused by a similar mechanism, but which acts on bursts of radio waves that travel from pole to pole along magnetic lines of force. |
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Disclaimer | ||||||||||||||||
This lightning data is only approximate and should not be used for safety applications. Strike and storm locations indicated and alarm statuses are as accurate as possible, but may be erroneous and should not be used to safeguard personnel, equipment or data. |