This week marks 10 years since we installed the BTD-300 Thunderstorm Detector on to Biral’s Managing Director’s roof, and it has operated flawlessly without any maintenance (not recommended but a testament to its durability!).
Here’s a quick snapshot of its impressive performance over the last decade:
- 95 billion individual current measurements
- 160 million fully processed and analysed observations
- 3,000 lightning flashes within 20 km
- 1,300 overhead cumulonimbus clouds detected (these are the clouds that produce heavy showers and thunderstorms)
- 140 thunderstorms within 20 km
- 35 hours of strongly electrified rainfall
- 5 hours of strongly ionised airflow from overhead thunderstorms
- Data from this detector has contributed to 2 published research articles
- Holds the longest continuous record of 100 Hz atmospheric electrostatic measurements in the world
This milestone highlights the exceptional reliability and performance of the BTD-300 – a true game-changer in thunderstorm detection.
