A New Tracking Algorithm Based on Foshan Total Lightning Data and the Influence of Historical Velocity and Matching Method on the Results

This paper introduces a new tracking algorithm (V2CM) based on total lightning data from the Foshan Total Lightning Location System (FTLLS), and the other four algorithms are used to test the influence of historical velocity and matching method on the results during the formation of V2CM. Different methods are used to quantitatively evaluate the performance of five tracking methods. Additionally, the number of splits and merges along a track is used as a new index to describe the complexity of the track. It is found that the best tracking method V2CM has the highest probability of detection (POD), the false alarm rate (FAR) and the critical success index (CSI) being 65.6%, 39.2%, 46.4%, respectively. It also produces longer and more coherent tracks than those of other four methods. The average number of splits and merges of the best method is 2.40 and lightning clusters matching method between two successive time intervals has a greater impact on the evaluation results than the historical velocity. In addition, lightning clusters move in the northeast direction, with a mean speed of 48.48 km/h and a median speed of 39.08 km/h. Complex tracks, involving splitting or merging, move faster than simple track.