SAFIR operation and evaluation of it's performance

SAFIR (Surveillance et d'Alerte Foudre par Interferometrie Radioelectrique) has been equipped and operated in Japan since June 12th, 1991 as a cooperative project among Osaka University, Kansai Electric Power Co. INC.(KEPCO), and the French manufacturer DIMENSIONS. The operational coverage covers Northern Kinki District, Wakasa District, and Hokuriku District. Hokuriku District is well known for its winter thunderstorm activity. The method for the evaluation was to take the cross-correlation between the meteorological radar echo pattern and the distribution pattern of lightning discharges detected by SAFIR. We obtained high cross-correlation coefficients and concluded that the SAFIR locations were shown to have statistically high accuracy. We also show the case study of the occurrence of the lightning strike, which is recorded by KEPCO, to evaluate the usefulness of the warning by SAFIR.