General information
AccuWeather's Lightning API delivers worldwide lightning strike data sourced from the AccuWeather Lightning Network™ and the GOES East/West GLM satellites. Each strike record includes precise coordinates, timestamp, strike type, and peak current — enabling everything from real-time safety alerts to long-range climate analysis.
All Lightning API endpoints are currently in preview release and may change at any time without notice.
Current data
Search for lightning strikes by geographic coordinates — define a point and radius, or specify the northwest and southeast corners of a bounding box. Returned as GeoJSON, ready to drop into mapping libraries like Leaflet, Mapbox GL, or Google Maps.
→ See it in action: Real-Time Lightning recipe
Forecast data
Get lightning probability forecasts by latitude and longitude. Forecasts express the likelihood of at least one lightning strike occurring in 10-minute intervals over a 2-hour window — useful for weather safety apps, outdoor activity planners, and short-range alerts.
→ See it in action: Lightning Forecast recipe
Historical data
Search for lightning strikes that occurred more than 120 minutes (two hours) before your query. Access one 24-hour period at a time, with records reaching back to January 1, 2006. Data is returned in JSON with embedded GeoJSON geometry — see the response parameter table for the full schema.
→ See it in action: Historical Lightning recipe