Lightning Observations & Nowcast

Lightning Strikes | Lightning List

There are two ways to query lightning parameters. You can either query a lightning density, i.e. the number of lightning strikes within a certain radius, or a list of lightning strikes within a bounding box of your choice.

Lightning Strikes

Lightning strike densities can be queried for an area within a certain radius around a coordinate point. Queries are available either via point or grid queries.

lightning_strikes_<radius>_<interval>:x

Available radii: 1km - 20km (continuously)

Available intervals: 5min, 10min, 15min, 20min, 30min, 1h, 3h, 6h, 12h, 24h

Examples

• https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z/lightning_strikes_10km_24h:x/55,-5_45,10:6x6/csv

  validdate;2017-08-01 12:00:00
  parameter;lightning_strikes_10km_24h:x
  data;-5;-2;1;4;7;10
  55;0;0;0;0;0;0
  53;0;0;0;0;0;0
  51;0;0;0;0;0;57
  49;0;0;0;888;11;0
  47;0;0;0;14;0;0
  45;0;0;84;0;0;0

• https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z/lightning_strikes_10km_24h:x/55,-5_45,10:500x500/png

  

• Shows the lightning strike density of the previous 24 hours within a radius of 10km around St. Gallen:
  https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z/lightning_strikes_10km_24h:x/47.412164,9.340652/html

Lightning List

To query lightning lists, you can use either WFS to easily integrate the data into existing frameworks or a specific list query as it is shown below. The output then lists all lightning flashes between the start and end date within the given bounding box.

https://api.meteomatics.com/get_lightning_list?time_range=<time_range>&bounding_box=<bounding_box>&format=<format>

Valid time ranges: a time period according to the description by defining a start and end point (the time step is not required)

Valid bounding boxes: a rectangle according to the description description (the resolution is not required)

Available formats: csv, json, xml

Examples

• https://api.meteomatics.com/get_lightning_list?time_range=2023-12-07T00:00:00ZPT1M&bounding_box=50,10_40,20&format=csv

  stroke_time:sql;stroke_lat:d;stroke_lon:d;stroke_current:kA
  2017-03-07T12:00:20Z;40.5489;19.7126;-36.3
  2017-03-07T12:00:20Z;40.5703;19.6809;-26.3
  2017-03-07T12:00:23Z;40.0008;19.1445;57.9
  2017-03-07T12:00:52Z;41.0072;19.1156;-51.9
  2017-03-07T12:00:52Z;41.0305;19.2038;17.8
  2017-03-07T12:00:52Z;40.2104;19.6306;30.8

• https://api.meteomatics.com/get_lightning_list?time_range=2023-12-06T17:45:00Z--2023-12-06T18:00:00Z&bounding_box=50,10_40,20&format=json

  {"version":"3.0","user":"api-test","dateGenerated":"2017-08-04T13:54:36Z","status":"OK","lightning_list"
  [{"stroke_time:sql":"2017-03-07T17:50:38Z","stroke_lat:d":"45.5459","stroke_lon:d":"11.6096","stroke_current:kA":"-5.1"},
  {"stroke_time:sql":"2017-03-07T17:52:09Z","stroke_lat:d":"42.5476","stroke_lon:d":"17.034","stroke_current:kA":"18.9"},
  {"stroke_time:sql":"2017-03-07T17:55:32Z","stroke_lat:d":"40.8864","stroke_lon:d":"16.6639","stroke_current:kA":"12.2"},
  {"stroke_time:sql":"2017-03-07T17:55:32Z","stroke_lat:d":"40.8444","stroke_lon:d":"16.7238","stroke_current:kA":"-14.6"},
  {"stroke_time:sql":"2017-03-07T17:55:32Z","stroke_lat:d":"40.8864","stroke_lon:d":"16.6639","stroke_current:kA":"12.2"},
  {"stroke_time:sql":"2017-03-07T17:55:32Z","stroke_lat:d":"40.8444","stroke_lon:d":"16.7238","stroke_current:kA":"-14.6"}]}