R&D 100 winner of the day: Cluster Integrity, Exception Resolution and Reclustering Algorithm (CIERRA)

Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Cluster Integrity, Exception Resolution and Reclustering Algorithm (CIERRA) ensures that all lightning – regardless of size – is represented properly and adds both context and in-depth descriptions for each flash. This information improves the understanding of lightning and situational awareness of lightning hazards. CIERRA is the first and only software that routinely identifies the most extraordinary and unpredictable type of lightning. These exceptional megaflashes differ from the current understanding of lightning as a short-duration, local-scale process. CIERRA provides an important tool at the forefront of the nascent research of extreme lightning and its hazards. CIERRA improves environmental hazard awareness by issuing rapid notifications when a storm has begun to generate megaflashes. Making this information widely available could enhance public safety. The study of these megaflashes could aid weather and wildfire prediction. Furthermore, CIERRA provides unprecedented quality data that will enable researchers to study the precursors to megaflashes and develop predictive tools for them.