Boltek Lightning/2000 - Manual (Page 235)

R E A L - T I M E L I G H T N I N G D E T E C T I O N
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Recognizing Patterns of Strokes
The direction of movement of a storm cell relative to the
single station detector can supply additional information in
many cases.
Consider the case of a single storm cell due north of the
detector where the storm cell is moving due east. If the storm
is producing mostly –CG strokes (near the convective core)
and a few +CG from the anvil the pattern could look like
figure 10.
When the numbers of –CG strokes are far larger than the
numbers of +CG strokes then the storm is considered to be
negative stroke dominated (NSD). As the storm ages more
positive charge will move into the anvil and increase the
possibility of a larger number of +CG strokes. When the
storm dissipates the –CG strokes would decrease in number
and the positive charge in the upper part of the cell could
generate a larger number of +CG strokes.
Another case to consider is the pattern of strikes generated by
a single cell that is part of a mesoscale convective system
(MCS). Assume the same conditions as for the storm
movement and position of the detector as above. Again the
storm would be producing a larger number of -CG strokes