Lightning parameters for engineering applications (keynote speech)

Various parameters of lightning discharges will be reviewed. Both common negative and less frequent but potentially more destructive positive and bipolar flashes will be covered. Direct lightning current measurements on instrumented towers will be discussed. Properties of first and subsequent strokes will be compared. The average number of strokes per flash and multiple channel terminations on ground will be considered. Parameters of subsequent strokes in natural lightning will be compared to their counterparts in rocket-triggered lightning. New insights into the lightning processes gained from triggered-lightning experiments will be discussed.