Lightning Parameters

Query parameters

ParameterDescriptionDefault value
api Hostname for use in production applications: api.accuweather.com. N/A Required
apidev Hostname for use in development applications: apidev.accuweather.com. N/A Required
version The API version (currently v1). v1 Required
format A string that specifies the response format. N/A Required
apikey A unique code to access AccuWeather's APIs. N/A Required
timeInterval The total amount of time, in minutes, for which lightning strike data will be returned. Available timespans are 5, 15, 30, 60, and 120. N/A Required
upperLeft The northwestern-most corner of the bounding box. Provide the coordinates as latitude,longitude in decimal format. N/A Required
lowerRight The southeastern-most corner of the bounding box. Provide the coordinates as latitude,longitude in decimal format. N/A Required
q A string that identifies the central location from which to search. Provide the coordinates as latitude,longitude in decimal format. N/A Required
distanceRadius The distance, in miles, from the center of the search area to the circle's outer edge. The maximum radius is 60 miles. 5 Optional
startDate The starting date-time value for search results in ISO 8601 format (yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss+hh:mm). N/A Required
strikeType A code to filter by lightning strike type. Valid values are: intra-cloud (cloud-to-cloud): ic; cloud-to-ground: cg. N/A Optional
offset When used, offset determines the first result to return. Results will be returned in sets of 5000. Setting offset=0 returns the first set of 5000 results, offset=1 returns the second set of 5000 results, etc. Leaving this parameter off OR setting offset=-1 will return all results. -1 Optional
details A Boolean value that specifies whether or not to include extended information. false Optional

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Response parameters

Current endpoints

ParameterDescription
type A string that describes the array following.
features An array that contains all lightning strike data for the specified time and location.
type A string that describes the object data set following.
geometry An object that contains location data about the lightning strike in question.
type A string that describes the location data following.
coordinates An array that contains geolocation data for the lightning strike.
properties An object that contains general metadata about the lightning strike.
id A unique code used to identify the lightning strike.
date The date and time at which the lightning strike was observed, reported in the UTC timezone regardless of location.
sourceId An integer that identifies the lightning strike data source. Possible values are: 84—GOES East GLM; 85—GOES West GLM; 86—AccuWeather Lightning Network.
strikeType A code that identifies the type of lightning strike. Possible values are: ic—intra-cloud (cloud-to-cloud); cg—cloud-to-ground; ""—missing or not applicable.
peakCurrent The lightning strike's amperage. A positive (+) polarity value indicates a positively-charged cloud-to-ground strike, which is typically more energetic and can be more destructive. A negative (-) polarity value indicates a negatively-charged cloud-to-ground strike, which is the most common type of lightning.

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Forecasts endpoints

ParametersDescription
latitude A geographical coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the Earth's surface.
longitude A geographical coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface.
initDateTime The forecasts' start date and time displayed in ISO 8601 format (yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssZ). Data is returned in ten minutes intervals and two hour intervals from this time.
forecasts An array that contains sets of forecast data for the requested location.
startDateTime The date and time at which the lightning strike is forecasted, displayed in ISO 8601 format (yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssZ).
startEpochTime The date and time at which the lightning strike is forecasted, displayd as a count of the number of seconds that have elapsed since midnight on January 1st, 1970 UTC/GMT.
probability A percentile indicating the predicted likelihood of at least one lightning strike occurring at the requested location during the indicated ten-minute interval.

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Historical endpoints

ParameterDescription
pageCount An integer that indicates which set of results are displayed. Results are returned in sets of 5000. Offset=0 indicates the first set of 5000 results, Offset=1 indicates the second set of 5000 results, etc. Offset=-1 indicates that all results are displayed.
resultsCount An integer that indicates that total number of lightning strikes returned with this query.
lightningSummary An object that contains an overview of the lightning strike results included with this response.
positiveStrikes A count of the total positively-charged lightning strikes included with this response.
negativeStrikes A count of the total negatively-charged lightning strikes included with this response.
closestStrike An object that contains information about the lightning strike which occurred nearest to the search center indicated by q in the query string.
type A string that describes the object.
features An array that contians information about the closest lightning strike.
type A string that describes the array.
geometry An object that contains location information for the closest lightning strike.
type A string that describes the object.
coordinates An array that contains coordinates for the closest lightning strike in decimal format.
properties An object that contains administrative and electrical information about the closest lightning strike.
id A unique string that identifies the lightning strike.
date The date and time that the lightning strike occured, displayed in ISO 8601 format (yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss+hh:mm).
sourceId An integer that identifies the data source for the lightning strike.
strikeType A code that identifies the type of lightning strike. Possible values are: ic—intra-cloud (cloud-to-cloud); cg—cloud-to-ground; ""—missing or not applicable.
peakCurrent The lightning strike's amperage. A positive (+) polarity value indicates a positively-charged cloud-to-ground strike, which is typically more energetic and can be more destructive. A negative (-) polarity value indicates a negatively-charged cloud-to-ground strike, which is the most common type of lightning.
lightningStrikes An object that contains information about each individual lightning strike.
type A string that describes the lightning strike data following.
features An array that contains information about each individual lightning strike.
type A string that describes the lightning strike location data following.
geometry An object that contains geographic location information about the lightning strike.
type A string that describes the lightning strike location data following.
coordinates An array that contains a set of coordinates for the lightning strike location.
properties An object that contains general information about the lightning strike.
id A unique string that identifies the lightning strike.
date The date and time that the lightning strike occured, displayed in ISO 8601 format (yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss+hh:mm).
sourceID An integer that identifies the data source for the lightning strike.
strikeType A code that identifies the type of lightning strike. Possible values are: ic—intra-cloud (cloud-to-cloud); cg—cloud-to-ground; ""—missing or not applicable.
peakCurrent The lightning strike's amperage. A positive (+) polarity value indicates a positively-charged cloud-to-ground strike, which is typically more energetic and can be more destructive. A negative (-) polarity value indicates a negatively-charged cloud-to-ground strike, which is the most common type of lightning.

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