Lightning Detection Follow

Overview

Tempest's lightning sensor has several features that highlight why the Tempest System is more than just hardware. The lightning sensor in your Tempest device can detect strikes up to 40 km away, and while it does a good job at detecting many strikes in this range, it's not perfect. It can miss some strikes, and it can also be susceptible to nearby electromagnetic interference.

Fortunately, the data reported by the individual sensor in your Tempest is supported by additional data and a sophisticated back-end process that significantly improves the reporting of lightning. This is accomplished by comparing data from your Tempest with other nearby Tempests along with several trusted, third-party lightning data sources. The result is the best lightning strike data available.

Features

Strike Confirmation: Lightning strikes observed by a Tempest device are validated and processed normally.

False Strike Identification: When a strike from a particular Tempest device cannot be validated, it is flagged as a false positive (useful for quality control & analysis), and not reported to the user.

Missed Strike Correction: If the combined additional data sources confirm a lightning strike near a Tempest that was not detected by the device, the system will fill in the gap with the validated strike information.

Long-Term Improvement: The Tempest lightning detection system is already the most accurate system available to consumers and, over time, you will see even better and faster results. The rapidly expanding Tempest network is quickly making the system better and our Continuous Learning system will make adjustments to the lightning sensor configuration parameters in individual Tempest devices, when necessary. This customized fine-tuning of the sensor will optimize its performance at its particular location. Also, quality control alerts will proactively notify users in case there is some action they can take (such as relocating the Tempest away from sources of EMF) to further improve performance.

Lightning Notifications in the app

The Tempest Weather app is able to send push notifications as soon as lightning is detected. Some thunderstorms can produce a lot of lightning (10s of strikes per minute). To prevent users from being overwhelmed by lightning detection alerts, an alert is only sent if it’s been more than 30 minutes since the last lightning alert or if a new lightning strike has been detected closer than the previous strike.

Lightning Disturber Status

The lightning disturber status is a benign status of the lightning sensor. It indicates the lightning sensor is detecting EM signals in the vicinity, but these signals are not being qualified as a lightning strike. It is actually very common for EM signals to be present at many locations and the sensor can easily detect these non-lightning signals if they are strong enough or if the device is close enough to the source. If you'd like you could relocate the Tempest device to be farther away from the signals but the sensor is doing its job filtering out the false positives so you don't necessarily have to take any action if you see this disturber status from time to time.