If you missed G0LRD's comment in an earlier post you may want this link that shows lightning activity:
http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en
There are storms in Eastern England and very many over the Alps. Interestingly the CN8 to OZ path has been open on 6m Es today. Some believe there is a correlation between Es and thunderstorms.
UPDATE 1720z: At the moment, the storms have ended but the lightning map shows a further storm is due to come through. At present it is over the Peterborough area and moving SE. I think it is best to NOT reconnect the antennas today.
UPDATE 1751z: The storm over Peterborough seems to be moving in an easterly direction and may miss our village with luck, although I can now hear distant thunder to the north.
UPDATE 1812z: The storm is definitely tracking east over the Bedford Levels in the Fens, towards Littleport, so should miss us. Even so, I'll stay off air tonight.
UPDATE 2016z: According to the lightning map, all thunder storms have now died out in the UK. I'll reconnect antennas in the morning.
WWW.blitzortung.org is another useful lightning mapping website. However this is not a network of commercial equipment but an amateur very large network which measures the delta delay between a strike's reception and the next GPS second. With a large number of sites this method works very well, avoiding analogue DF issues.
ReplyDeleteA recent upgrade shows radiating lines from a strike to the stations that have recorded the stroke, this gives a very interesting dimension to the data with very little delay between the event and the display.
Networks are now growing in the USA and Oceania too.
Alan
G8LCO.