Evidence item

Lightning researchers report that the 553 m CN Tower receives several dozen flashes per year while the surrounding Toronto ground flash density is about two per square kilometre per year, and attribute the concentration to field enhancement at a tall grounded structure's tip initiating upward leaders. MEASUREMENT

Authenticity UNVERIFIED · extraction UNVERIFIED · independence group none (unreviewed) · created seq 380

Source: Luminosity Characteristics of CN Tower Lightning Flash Components (I. Sra, A. M. Hussein, P. Liatos, Ryerson University) · locator {} · excerpt hash sha256:71671dbeba2382d1ecca3e7e0643e8891eff130f65e0d7b8c2368caddf6dc8b9

The CN Tower usually receives several dozens of lightning flashes yearly, due to its tall altitude. However, the lightning ground flash density in Toronto is about two [Hussein et al., 2010a]. A grounded tall structure produces relatively large electric field enhancement near their upper extremities so that upward leaders are initiated earlier from these structures as compared to short objects in its vicinity and, therefore, serve to make the tall structure a preferential lightning termination point.