In this study, an investigation of a new thunderstorm intensity index (TSII) derived from lightning data is performed, along with its relationship to rain, wind, hail and waterspouts as well as instability indices (CAPE, LI, KI, and DLS). The study area is located in the northeastern Adriatic and includes various terrain types in a relatively small area (coastal, flatlands, hills and valleys, and mountain regions). The investigated period covers 11 years (2008–2018). The mathematical algorithm standing behind the TSII is based on the well-established methodology of lightning jump, allowing us to recognize areas where intensification in thunderstorms occurred. Our results suggest that these areas (with a positive TSII) experience significantly higher rain intensities and have higher total amounts of precipitation compared with areas where thunderstorms did not generate a TSII. Moreover, 76% of thunderstorm hail cases were associated with the presence of a TSII within a 15 km distance. The maximum reported wind speed also has higher values on a day with a TSII. Out of 27 waterspout events associated with lightning, 77% were related to a TSII. Due to the good spatial (3 km × 3 km) and high temporal (2 min) resolution of lightning data, the TSII can recognize even a local and short-lived intense system that is often misread by radars and satellites due to their inferior temporal resolution. The TSII is designed to be used as a climatological and diagnostic variable that could serve in lieu of more established data sources (e.g., station measurements and observations, radar imagery, etc.) if they are unavailable.

Upozorenja na opasne vremenske pojave vrlo su bitna za zaštitu života i imovine građana Republike Hrvatske (RH) i sukladno s tim izdavanje upozorenja jedan je od primarnih zadataka Državnoga hidrometeorološkog zavoda (DHMZ), koji ima i isključivu nadležnost za njihovo izdavanje. DHMZ sustavno i kontinuirano razvija kvalitetne informacije na opasne vremenske pojave te je sustav upozoravanja doživio mnoge preinake posljednjih godina, a posebnu ulogu u tome imao je razvoj interneta i tehnologija kojima se informacije mogu vrlo brzo prenositi. U procesu izdavanja upozorenja i obavješćivanja javnosti DHMZ mora komunicirati i surađivati sa svim službama i partnerima zaduženima za sigurnost građana RH. U ovom je radu dan pregled sustava DHMZ-a za izdavanje upozorenja na opasne vremenske pojave, od standardnih operativnih postupaka, razvoja sustava koji je posljednjih nekoliko godina bio vrlo intenzivan, do objašnjenja konačnog produkta, odnosno informacije koja je dostupna svim građanima RH na mrežnim stranicama DHMZ-a. Također su prikazane mnoge statističke značajke upozorenja izdanih u razdoblju od 2009. do 2018. godine, način verifikacije pojedinih upozorenja, a jedno poglavlje posvećeno je i zaštiti od požara raslinja, odnosno ulozi DHMZ-a u provedbi mjera zaštite od požara od interesa za RH.