Intercomparison of the FLITS and KLDN with ATDnet Lightning Detection Systems in the Netherlands, with a case study on the potential of infrasound lightning detection

Abstract

Because of the risks to public safety and property, meteorological services actively monitor lightning events. The generated lightning detections are used by insurance companies, air traffic controllers and other interested parties. The detection databases can also be used for scientific purposes and as input for weather models, since lightning can be considered as a proxy for associative severe weather conditions like heavy rain, gusts and hail. KNMI's FLITS lightning detection system will be replaced by the KLDN system from the external company Météorage. In order to anticipate on differences in lightning detection due to the use of a new system, historical datasets are analyzed. The relative performance of FLITS, KLDN and ATDnet, a lightning detection system used by UK Met Office, is determined. The results will form a scientific base for KNMI to decide on the use of KLDN for existing applications like lightning monitoring in general, severe weather alarms and lightning activity detection in the Netherlands, especially around airports.

The results show large differences between the systems, especially on the sensitivity for cloud to cloud vs cloud to ground lightning. The use of KLDN will affect the flight warnings around airports. The weather alarm criteria are recommended to be revised.