Lightning observations

The Finnish Meteorological Institute’s lightning position detects and locates lightning throughout Finland. The observations include ground flashes with sub-attacks and some cloud lightnings. However, the observation efficiency of clouds is significantly lower than that of ground light. The main parameters reported by the locator are time and location data. The system also reports e.g. peak current and positioning inaccuracies. The positioning accuracy (the ground contact point) is typically less than 1 km, but the positioning accuracy varies from one position to another. In total, the data contains the entire permitted continuum up to a maximum value of 25 km. In the case of clouds, error estimates are typically higher, but on the other hand, their location cannot be precisely determined by a single point (there is no land contact).