Biral Discusses the Advances in Lightning Detection at RMets

The one-day meeting, jointly organised by two RMetS special interest groups on Atmospheric Energy and Meteorological Observing Systems, is being held on 9 March 2016 at the Reading University Department of Meteorology. 

 

Biral’s Meteorological Product Manager, Dr Alec Bennett* will be presenting at the talk alongside representatives from the UK Met Office, academics from the universities of Bath and Oxford as well as other professional experts from the lightning detection industry. Dr Bennett’s talk on the electrostatic methods of thunderstorm detection is just one part of the day-long discussion on the current technology available for lightning detection including the current limitations of these technologies, as well as future developments for the industry.

Dr Alec Bennett will be presenting an overview of Biral’s BTD-300 thunderstorm warning system, including real-life case studies highlighting its capability to provide early warnings even before the first lightning flash from the developing storm.  As a UK-based developer of a new generation of thunderstorm warning systems, Biral is keen to contribute to the success of this national meeting.

As a leading designer and manufacturer of high quality meteorological products, including electrostatic lightning detection systems, Biral has the expertise to develop equipment according to the latest technologies and industry requirements. In particular, the company has produced its BTD-300 Thunderstorm Detection System with the impressive capabilities to accurately detect all forms of lightning within an 83km distance.

The electrostatic operating principles of the BTD-300 reduce its false detection rate to almost zero with the ability to warn of the risk of overhead lightning before the first discharge occurs. Due to its ability to detect cloud-to-cloud lightning the BTD-300 is much more sensitive to the presence of storms, making it a particularly more effective and reliable system than devices that rely on radiowave detection.

Biral has seen many successful global applications of the BTD-300 Thunderstorm Detection equipment across all industries that are affected or threatened by thunderstorms. The system has allowed many organisations to take precautions and follow the risk assessment procedures as a result of the forewarning from the BTD-300. The system also signals when the storm has safely passed to allow operations to safely resume far quicker than traditional equipment would have indicated.