Here’s what’s going to be a handy device to have if you spend a lot of time outside, whether it’s working or playing. Spectrum Electronics has announced the release of the Thunderbolt, a professional-grade handheld storm detector.

The ThunderBolt is a handheld device that provides lightning warning by detecting thunderstorm activity up to 75 miles away. Once the ThunderBolt detects a storm, it will calculate the actual distance in miles and display warning information on its LCD display. The unit will then monitor the storm and provide updates every 15 seconds on the distance, approach speed, intensity, and ETA to your exact location. From the ThunderBolt web site…

ThunderBolt Storm Detector analyzes thunderstorm and lightning activity independently from any broadcast weather source, eliminating time delays in reporting dangerous weather warnings with real time weather data.

It’s due for release in January 2006 and you can find a lot more details at the ThunderBolt web site here.

[via Gizmodo]