North Georgia Lightning Mapping Array (NGLMA)

The Severe Storms Research Center (SSRC) has developed, deployed and is operating the North Georgia Lightning Mapping Array (NGLMA). The NGLMA, consisting of twelve VHF sensing stations and a central processing computer at CCRF, is able to detect “total lightning”, the combination of both cloud to cloud and cloud to ground lightning, over the northern half of Georgia at a high spatial and temporal resolution. This data is being used operationally by the National Weather Service to detect and warn of severe storms, by NOAA as ground truth for the Global Lightning Mapping sensor, now deployed on the GOES-16 geostationary satellite, and for internal research on severe storm detection and characterization.

The NGLMA system provides total lightning coverage for North Georgia. (Total lightning is defined as both cloud to ground and intra-cloud lightning.) 3D total lightning coverage extends approximately 150 kilometers from metro Atlanta; 2D coverage extends approximately 250 kilometers.

The SSRC is actively engaged in developing alternative methods of detecting and forecasting severe local storms, exploring improvements to existing storm prediction and sensor technology, and researching local and global factors that influence the development and detection of severe local storms.

For more information, go to the North Georgia Lightning Mapping Array page.