softball coaches around here have a little gotcha box that lights up when a storm's lightning wreath is getting close. this chip would appear to be the fundamental block for that kind of thing, using 500 KHz as a monitored frequency per the datasheet and using a microprocessor and lookup table to determine friend from foe. not mentioned, but I'd wager it's an AM one-chip radio into an 8-bit processor. the integrator's friend would be the auto-sensitization and lightning recognition algorithms internal to the chip.
we do have other options. an AM radio helps. if you start getting static, jam it between stations. if it's getting noisy, stick your head out the window and look at the sky.
numerous smartphone apps offer severe weather alerts. your shack could be cinders by the time one hits, but it's useful. you can always watch the radar, too.
we seem to have lost the farmer's weather sense in our society. but if you've got a 5-grand contesting radio just chock-full of micron-width semiconductor junctions, use all the tools you have to protect it
