Basis for lightning warning systems based in natural electric field measurement

Abstract

The natural earth electric field is disturbed when a thundercloud is present, the evolution of the electrification before a lightning discharge gives enough time to do actions against possible lightning damages. Different terrain orography and nearby objects disturb the natural electric field so at each place the criteria to evaluate the risk is not equal. This paper presents a study of application the electric field measurement at ground level as a basis for lightning hazard warning and presents a methodology to study each particular situation.