Our satellite service for lighting strikes allows you to observe right on the map the motion of the storm front in its evolution. This particular tool, by means of real time observation, offers to the users a better insight into the punctual forecast of the weather report. Based on the direction the front is taking and on the speed it is moving at, users will be able to make an informed decision on whether to change or even reverse course.

We employ the Second Generation Meteosat (MSG) with RGB composition (red, green, blue) and channels between 1 and 11. The product is thus set on optical wavelengths (of great detail, used during the day) and on infrared wavelengths (used during night hours). This way, the system is able to identify convective systems or thunderstorms (deep white color), fogs (saturated yellow), low clouds (light yellow) and high clouds (white color of a frayed texture).

The satellite product is integrated with data on lighting strikes registered in real time within the last few hours, in order to know the exact position of thunderstorms and trace their trajectory. A dedicated alert system will thus be able to warn users in case any lighting strike has been registered within 20km of the harbor they set as default.

During summertime, it is also possible to identify and trace the evolution of storm systems by cross-referencing lighting strikes activity with clouds reflectivity. Summer storms often come together with the so-called downbursts: unexpected and extremely intense gusts of wind (they can even exceed 50 knots) that can thus be of great danger. By detecting storm cells early on, Meteomed is also able to prevent its effects.

In wintertime this service is on the other hand very useful for detecting fog banks. Because they are in fact very low clouds, by employing the visible channel they will appear extremely compact, of slow evolution and of a yellowish color. We are also able to detect fogs by night using the infrared channel.