Research Symposium

BIO

Current sophomore meteorology major from Suwanee, Georgia.

Correlative Effect of Prominent Objects with Lightning Flash Density

Abstract

Does lightning preferentially strike tall towers? Above a certain height, the rate of lightning is expected to drastically increase. Various hypotheses have been formed regarding the correlation between height and lightning flash rates, but our research suggests that there is a certain height at which lighting rates exponentially increase, resulting in a logarithmic relationship. The importance of finding a height at which lighting rates increase could allow for more modern building construction codes and more economical engineering of prominent objects. Our research considers several clusters of towers around the state and the rate of lightning flashes within each with a range of heights. To determine the critical height, we survey towers across the state of Florida and determine flash densities in small areas surrounding the tower. The densities are then graphed with the tower height, which allows us to find an inflection height in lighting flash density. 

Keywords: Lightning, Meteorology, Weather