The World Meteorological Organization thunder hour essential variable creates global lightning observations from multiple ground- and space-based instruments (owned publicly and commercially). Each platform produces a thunder hour dataset, which enables easy inter-comparisons between all participating instruments. These datasets allow for long-term studies of lightning activity around the globe and serve as proxies for global convection, or “storminess,” which is otherwise difficult to monitor at a global scale.
Climatological thunder hours are available from satellites for 1998 onward, while global ground network-based thunder hour availability varies by network, with the earliest starting in January 2014. The data record extends through December 31, 2025, and new data from available instruments will be added annually.
Cite the Collection
Virts, Katrina, S. Goodman, R. Said, L. DiGangi, and J. Lapierre (2025) Global Thunder Hour Collection [indicate instrument and subset used]. Data available online [https://earthdata.nasa.gov/centers/ghrc-daac] from the NASA EOSDIS Global Hydrometeorology Resource Center Distributed Active Archive Center, Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.A. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.5067/GLOBALTH/DATA101.
General Characteristics
| Project | World Meteorological Organization |
|---|---|
| Platforms | Ground Stations, GOES-16, 17, 18, and 19, International Space Station, and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission |
| Sensors/Instruments | LIS, GLM, WWLLN, ENTLN, GLD360 |
| Parameters | Lightning Thunder Hours |
| Processing Level | 3 |
| Formats | netCDF, mp4, png |
| Location | Global |
| Spatial Resolution | 0.05 degrees latitude by 0.05 degrees longitude |
| Boundaries (note: will vary by individual instrument) | North: 90.0 South: -90.0 West: -180.0 East: 180.0 |
| Temporal Resolution | Will vary by instrument: Hourly, monthly, and annually |
| Start Date | January 1, 1998
|
| Stop Date | December 31, 2025
|