Lightning Archive

Lightning Archive

URL Path
https://data.api.xweather.com/lightning/archive/
Data Coverage
Global
Update Interval
Real-time
Time Range
2016 to now
Access Multiplier
10x

The lightning/archive API endpoint provides access to Vaisala Xweather’s global lightning data. The archive provides access to information from Jan 2016 through the current date/time. The available data includes the type of strike/pulse, location, polarity, and amperage. Options are available for both cloud-to-ground and intracloud (cloud-to-cloud) pulse types. Please contact our Accounts Team (opens in a new tab) for more information.

The lightning/archive API endpoint has the following limitations:

  • The maximum radius value is 100km (~62 miles).

  • Lighting strike/pulse information can return up to 24 hours of data per API query.

  • The lightning data archive is available from January 1, 2016, through the current date/time.

  • Up to 1000 lightning strikes can be retrieved in a single query. Please note using the skip parameter will pull the next 1000 strikes.

Requests

Every request to the endpoint must include one of the supported actions in the url.

https://data.api.xweather.com/lightning/archive/{action}?client_id={client_id}&client_secret={client_secret}&{params}

Supported Actions

The following actions are supported with the /lightning/archive endpoint:

ActionDescription
:idType: stringTypically used for passing a geographical location name or identifier such as city name, lat/long, or even US and Canadian postal codes. Learn more.
closestType: stringBased on a location search, the results will be returned in order from closest to farthest. Learn more.
routeType: stringAllows you to pass several coordinates along a custom route to return data points at each location. Learn more.

Response

The following is an example of what each object in the response will consist of. Depending on your requested action, the response may contain multiple instances of this object within an array.

Properties

id (string)

The unique identifier for the lightning record.

loc (object)

The location of the record.

loc.long (number)

The place or nearest place to the record.

loc.lat (number)

The latitude coordinate of the record.

ob (object)

Object containing the lightning observation.

ob.timestamp (number)

Unix timestamp of the lightning pulse.

ob.dateTimeISO (string)

ISO 8601 date of the lightning pulse.

ob.age (number)

Seconds since the lightning pulse.

ob.pulse (object)

Object containing the lightning pulse information.

ob.pulse.type (string)

One of the two types of lightning pulses.
- IC: Intracloud
- CG: Cloud-to-ground (Strike)

ob.pulse.peakamp (number)

The peak amplitude of the lightning pulse. Polarity is determined by a negative or positive value.

ob.pulse.numSensors (number)

The number of sensors that detected the lightning pulse.

ob.pulse.icHeightM (number)

Deprecated

ob.pulse.icHeightFT (number)

Deprecated

recTimestamp (number)

The Unix timestamp of the time the lightning strike information was received.

recISO (string)

The ISO 8601 date of the time the lightning strike information was received.

age (number)

DEPRECATED Use `ob.age` instead.

[
  {
    "id": "657b5fa17f026f06ce60446b",
    "loc": {
      "long": -61.7609,
      "lat": -4.8805
    },
    "ob": {
      "timestamp": 1702584165,
      "dateTimeISO": "2023-12-14T20:02:45+00:00",
      "age": 64,
      "pulse": {
        "type": "ic",
        "peakamp": -15000,
        "numSensors": 7,
        "icHeightM": 0,
        "icHeightFT": 0
      }
    },
    "recTimestamp": 1702584225,
    "recISO": "2023-12-14T20:03:45+00:00",
    "age": 64
  }
]