Distribution of lightning

The distribution of lightning refers to how often lightning strikes happen in different places around the world. It depends on where you are, the climate, and the time of year. Scientists have only recently been able to collect good data about lightning, and this data shows that lightning happens about 44 times every second somewhere on Earth. This means there are roughly 1.4 billion lightning flashes every year all around the planet. Understanding where and when lightning happens helps us know where to be extra careful during storms.

Ratios of lightning types

Lightning comes in different types, and scientists have found patterns in how often each type happens around the world. On average, for every four lightning flashes, three happen between clouds (called intra-cloud or cloud-to-cloud), and one strikes the ground (called cloud-to-ground). In warm places near the equator, called the tropics, most lightning stays between clouds, with a ratio of about nine to one. But in places farther from the equator, like Norway, the ratio is closer to even, about one to one, because the cold part of the clouds is closer to the ground.

Distribution

Lightning does not happen the same everywhere on Earth. Most lightning occurs in warm areas near the equator, called the Tropics, especially over land. Places near the North and South Poles, and over oceans, have much less lightning.

One place with lots of lightning is above the Catatumbo river near Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. This area, known as Catatumbo lightning, has lightning many times each minute, up to 300 nights a year. It has the most lightning strikes per square kilometer in the world. Another busy spot is Kifuka in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with many lightning strikes each year.

In the United States, the west coast has fewer lightning strikes. However, states like Texas, Florida, and Oklahoma see a lot of lightning. Florida, especially an area called “Lightning Alley” from Tampa to Orlando, has very frequent lightning. The Empire State Building in New York City is struck by lightning about 23 times each year.

Lightning data sources

Before we had tools to detect lightning, scientists studied it by counting the days people heard thunder. This method was not very accurate because it depended on where people lived and how far thunder could travel.

Today, we use special electronic tools called lightning sensors to track lightning. These tools watch for changes in radio waves caused by lightning. In the United States, a big network called the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) started in 1989 to watch lightning all across the country. Vaisala now manages this network and also created a similar one in Canada.

Satellites can also watch lightning from space. In 1997, NASA and Japan launched a tool called the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on a satellite. In 2017, new tools on weather satellites began watching lightning all the time over much of the world.