Monthly Thunder Hour Data from Geostationary Lightning Mappers

Satellite-derived data maps thunderstorm frequency across the Americas and adjacent oceans. The dataset combines observations from NOAA's GOES-16, -17, -18, and -19 satellites, providing continuous lightning detection coverage from January 2019 onward. It is produced by the GHRC DAAC using the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) instruments.

Use Cases

• Analyze regional thunderstorm frequency trends over time using the monthly aggregated thunder hour metric.
• Map the spatial distribution of lightning activity across the Western Hemisphere using the 0.05° resolution grid.
• Correlate thunder hour data with other climate variables to study storm patterns over the Americas and surrounding oceans.
• Validate and calibrate ground-based lightning detection networks using the satellite-derived thunder hour metric.

Strengths

• Continuous dual-satellite coverage from GOES-East and GOES-West positions since January 2019.
• Hemispheric spatial coverage from the Aleutian Islands to the western tip of Africa at 0.05° resolution.

Limitations

• Data is limited to the geographic field of view of the GOES satellites, excluding most of Asia, Europe, and the Eastern Hemisphere.
• The 'thunder hour' metric is an aggregated proxy, not a direct count of individual lightning flashes.

Provenance

Source

GHRC_DAAC (Global Hydrology Resource Center Distributed Active Archive Center).

Collection Method

Calculated from lightning detections by the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) instruments aboard NOAA GOES-16, -17, -18, and -19 satellites.

Time Range

January 2019 to present.

Freshness

Updated monthly, with data available from 2019 onward.

Geography

Americas and surrounding oceans, from the Aleutian Islands and New Zealand eastward to the western tip of Africa.