Click
on image for:
National Radar Summary,
courtesy of WxPortal from SSESCO, Inc.
|
Click on image
for:
National GOES Infrared Satellite Image, courtesty of WxPortal from SSESCO,
Inc.
|
Click
on image for:
Lightning map,
courtesy of Vaisala Lightning Explorer
|
| Radar: The national radar composite
shows areas of precipitation, ranging from very light (blue) to intense
(yellow to reds). |
Satellite:
This is an infrared (heat) image of the clouds over the U.S. The higher
the cloud top, the colder it is. The coldest clouds in this display are
the darkest blue. Reddish areas usually represent clear skies. |
Lightning: This is a 30 minute
summary of lightning cloud-to-ground flashes (both positive and negative
polarity) over the United States from the National Lightning Detection Network. |
|
Where To
Look:
Sprites:
Only visible at night. Where is lightning reported,
check for large storms, generally (much) bigger than the State of Rhode
Island that have very cold (deep blue) cloud tops in the satellite imagery.
The sprites are most likely to occur behind the intense leading edge of
the storm (yellow to red radar), in the blue/green/some yellow "stratiform"
precipitation regions associated with many large thunderstorm systems.
Sprites are best seen above storms east of the Rockies, but summer storms
in northwestern Mexico produce great sprites visible from Arizona and
parts of New Mexico. Sprites may also occur above winter thunderstorms
over the Gulf Stream. With clear local skies and good visibility, sprites
can be seen above storms up to 200-250 miles away. The very brightest
may be captured by video cameras set
Blue Jets:
The classic blue jet is visible only at night. They
can occur above the very large thunderstorms which also make sprites,
but they are also possible above much smaller but intense thunderstorms
perhaps only 10 to 20 miles across. Normally you will have to be within
100 miles of the storm to see them. They may also occur above night time
thunderstorms over the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coastal waters.
Upward Lightning:
Visible day and night. Very rare, but if they occur,
there are sometimes a dozen or more at intervals of a few minutes. Set
up a film camera for time exposures or let a video camera run.. These
are most likely to occur over small (10-20 miles across) but very intense,
rapidly growing, even severe, thunderstorms, often within the first 30
minutes of storm development. They may also occur above night time thunderstorms
over the Gulf and Atlantic coastal waters.
Where are the sprites tonight?
Happy hunting.
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