Wondering if your going to fly or fry? check out the lightning map!...

www.lightningmaps.org/?lang=en

It is cool.

combine that with the Windy TY

www.windy.com/?-41.000,174.000,4

Plus local forecasts, live wind stations and rain radar and you have some pretty comprehensive weather info.

Gimmicky site - seeing as though the official lightning strike data has an error of about +/- 10km or so, plus everything is transposed to about the NW by about 20km - and it depends where in the world you are as to how big the error is - this is really not of any use
They could put dots anywhere there is storm clouds and we'd be none the wiser/

Loftywinds said..

Mark _australia said..
Gimmicky site - seeing as though the official lightning strike data has an error of about +/- 10km or so, plus everything is transposed to about the NW by about 20km - and it depends where in the world you are as to how big the error is - this is really not of any use
They could put dots anywhere there is storm clouds and we'd be none the wiser/

And I don't see how lighting can help us forecast the wind either.

Lightning most definately give you an indication of wind. More to the point when you track rain raidar you can not tell if the cloud mass your tracking has thunder/lightning in it.

So the question asked on these raining stormy wintery days is this.

Is that approaching rain a benign rain cloud that can possibly be kited through. Or is it a thunder cloud that you down want to be around? On those days it doesn't really matter if the lightening strike is 20 even 30km off. The question is was there lightning at all in that approaching cloud mass. If yes flag the kiting.
If no, it might be worth while going out.