GeoRayos, a Web and Mobile App to Increase Awareness on Lightning Strikes

Abstract

Thunderstorms are one of the most amazing meteorological phenomena of nature, but, unfortunately, lightnings can be dangerous for people, fauna and infrastructure. America is one of the regions in the world with the most intense convective systems, and Argentina is one of the countries with most electrical storms. In this context, a web and mobile application called GeoRayos was created as an interdisciplinary project to study and detect lightning strikes in real time, and visualize electric field, to raise awareness and prevent accidents and fatalities to the general public. Nowadays, GeoRayos is currently used by decision makers from various institutions such as Civil Defense, National Fire Management Service, and National Parks, as well as meteorologists from the Argentine National Meteorological Service.