Real-time Lightning Map: a non-propagation tool

[John Poet]

https://www.lightningmaps.org/


As the "electrical storm season" begins, I am reminded that I used to use this site, or one like it, to try to make an assessment of how noisy the shortwave bands were likely to be, and whether I thought it would be worth the effort to make a pirate radio broadcast.  Looks pretty noisy tonight.... but I've seen worse.

As 'Doc Brown' might have said, every one of those lightning bolts is like a "1.21 Gigawatt transmitter" keying up on you!   LOL

Proximity to the storms makes some difference, of course--- last night that storm band going across northern Wisconsin and Michigan wrought havoc with my favorite SDRs located up there, but as a result I investigated quite a few others across North America where the noise was a little lower.

Just a thought for the ops out there--- being able to "see it" rather than just hear it can be enlightening---
also may show you where your listeners are likely to be disconnecting their antennas....   

[NQC]

Hey John Poet,

Thanks  for posting this lightning page.

For 55 + years , I have been interested in lightning , either watching it directly, listening to it on radio ( along with whistlers and other "Natural Radio" lightning related VLF phenomena) and in more recent years  by tracking it online.



de NQC