Thunder Storms and the Internet

[#1]

I heard a thunder storm outside so was curious to see if I could find it's location, so a bit of searching found this:

https://www.lightningmaps.org

Isn't the Internet brilliant!

[#2]

The thing I really like about that website, is that if you zoom in to your location during a thunderstorm, and then watch for live lightning strikes appearing, that the expanding circle that is displayed corresponds to the sound of the thunderclap as it travels towards you.  So as the circle passes over your location, then simultaneously you will hear the bang outside !

I have no idea how they are able to display lightning strikes so accurately in real time, that the sound wave display is perfectly synchronized with the realty of what you experience on the ground !

[#3]

What a time to be alive! Very cool find.

I had a look a bit deeper and it looks like the data comes from here: http://en.blitzortung.org/live_lightning_maps.php?map=10

I guess the only thing you can't do on the source map is zoom in to your local area.

[#4]

@jaread83 - As @Nibiru says and as I have done you can zoom in to your own location using the original link at least, I did it by repeated clicking on the applicable area of the map.

[#5]

I'm going to check this out when the next thunderstorm appears over Sheffield

Edit: I was wondering how they get the data, looks like they got some hardware out to detect it all: http://en.blitzortung.org/cover_your_area.php which is all quite interesting.

[#6]

Click on the little icon that looks like a wifi transmitter.... and then click the second from the right for "Stations" .. ( that is where the "receivers" are located... then click on the same one below for "Lines".... different coloured lines from those stations then "locate" the source of the lightning.... the colours of the lines represent how accurate they are... and also the colours of the "strikes" indicates how "new" or "old" they are...    RED for most recent... and then they will "degenerate" over a period of time, thru yellow and orange to brown, which is an old strike.

[#7]

Basically the same as triangulating a location using a compass and line-of-sight.

[#8]

By good or mis-fortune I am able to use this site again as there are various thunder storms going on around me. But I really shouldn't type the rest of this but to prove I am human (and stupid), while watching the strikes I saw the shock wave approaching our village; so what did I do; I turned up the sound so I could hear it better!

I know the Internet's a great thing but even I don't think its that smart!

[#9]

You daft bat ! ...... you only hear a click when the strike is actually shown on screen !   Doh ! ! ...

[#10]

is there a map to show where all the pubs are in europe ? just out of intrest

[#11]

@St3 Dunno,... but I just googled  "map of pubs in paris" and found this....

https://www.thrillist.com/drink/paris/paris-metro-map-map-with-bars-near-every-stop

There is a "blown up"   ( sorry not quite the right word, methinks )...  magnified version on the linky you can click

[#12]

First signs of a thunderstorm and I certainly wont be using that site or any site for that matter.  Two routers and a pc lost due to storms in the last 8 years, if at home I power off and unplug everything every time we get one here

[#13]

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Gus wrote:

Two routers and a pc lost due to storms in the last 8 years

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I also do the same as you and unplug everything when a storm is coming!

I lost 3 computers on my home network when lightening hit my house back in 2002. All surge protected but the phone line was not unfortunately. So the surge went through the modem, blew up my fathers computer and travelled to my brothers computer via the network cable, killed his network card and mine was at the end of the network which is where the full brunt of the surge hit. Everything got fried, my CPU was blackened and I had to build a new PC. Bad times but lesson learned!

[#14]

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Gus wrote:

First signs of a thunderstorm and I certainly wont be using that site or any site for that matter.  Two routers and a pc lost due to storms in the last 8 years, if at home I power off and unplug everything every time we get one here

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Yeah. but.... you may be 50 or more miles away from the actual strikes... so  you just close down your world, and wait for the storm to  pass   ? ? ?  

Me.. I`d be on the site, to see which way it was moving , and how many strikes per min, etc... no good having your head under the pillow,.... if it is going to strike... at least you would have "some" warning from looking at the site.. 

[#15]

Storms around Inverness come in quick, so yeah soon as the first strike is heard I power off/unplug.  Not working so I can't afford to loose my pc that I can't replace, for the sake of internet during 20-60minutes storm time.