Vaisala flips the switch on one-kilometer accuracy for Global Lightning Dataset GLD360

If lightning happens in remote places of the world and nobody is there to see it, did it even happen? The answer is firmly, YES! And when lightning happens near you, Vaisala Global Lightning Dataset GLD360 is sure to detect it.

In our recent blog post from October 28, we announced the best just got better with one-kilometer location accuracy for lightning strikes, globally. This is quite impressive compared to the original 5-10-kilometer accuracy when Vaisala’s GLD360 lightning detection network was first introduced more than 10 years ago.

In the October blog, we communicated that we would flip the switch in December, giving customers an opportunity to test the new data before everybody receives GLD360 version 4.0 lightning data, and testing has gone well.

We have kept our word, and Vaisala is proud to announce that today, December 8, 2020 we are officially “flipping the switch” over to GLD360 Version 4.0!

Not only can users expect to see an improvement in lightning strike median location accuracy now to one kilometer, but they will also benefit from correct classification of cloud vs. ground lightning 85% of the time. This means organizations can enjoy more accurate reporting for incident investigation and even more reliable lightning alerting for improved operational efficiency in industries such as aviation, marine, mining, and many more around the globe. 

Vaisala’s GLD360 was already the industry-best lightning detection network in terms of global detection efficiency, detecting more than two billion lightning events in 2019. With this upgrade, users will notice an increase of about 10-15% more lightning events detected. Customers can continue to trust the best global lightning detection network available when their operations and above all the safety of their people depend on it. 

If you are an existing GLD360 customer, there is no action needed on your part to take advantage of this upgrade as you are automatically transitioned to seamlessly receive the new data. 

For those attending the AMS Annual Meeting in January 2021, keep an eye out for our session describing the scientific details of GLD360 more fully or come chat with us in our virtual booth. If you want to learn how your organization can benefit from GLD360 lightning data and alerts, visit www.vaisala.com/lightning or as always, reach out to us for a personal response.