Lightening As A Flood Predictor

According to the National Weather Service, more people have died from floods than from lightening, tornadoes, or hurricanes.

Andrea Thompson with LiveScience.com has reported that researchers have been finding that lightening strikes could be indicators for upcoming flash floods.

An international team of scientists has conducted a study called the “Flash Project” over the last few years that have “found that by measuring the radiation emitted by lightning, they can pinpoint the most intense thunderstorms and track the resulting rainfall.

The method can be used to predict both the path of the storm and where heavy rainfall will appear in the next few hours – a technique called ‘nowcasting.’ Nowcasting looks at a shorter time scale than forecasting, which looks a few days in advance.”

With the information gathered, real-time flash flood prediction maps should be on the Flash Project’s website around the mid-2009.

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