Lightning strikes - real time maps

I zoomed in on my part of the world. It breaks down into grids and puts a counter at each grid showing the number of strikes inside (for the last 2 hrs?). It's pretty cool to zoom in far enough to see individual lightning strikes get plotted on the map. It overlays with Google Earth so you can go to the satellite view.
 
Didn't think there would be so many strikes in such a short amount of time. We just don't get thunderstorms here in SE Alaska. Maybe 1 every 10 years.
 
Wow.... really cool.!!

AKBill said:
We just don't get thunderstorms here in SE Alaska. Maybe 1 every 10 years.
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One summer in Kotzebue a single cloud produced a single bolt of lightning, followed by a loud BOOM BOOM thunder clap that shook windows and doors. Kids ran inside crying and people called the radio station asking if it was a terrorist attack.....:lol::lol::lol:
 
I wonder why google hasn't added a weather overlay to google maps. They have traffic. If I could lay stuff like this over the top...
 
AKBill said:
Didn't think there would be so many strikes in such a short amount of time. We just don't get thunderstorms here in SE Alaska. Maybe 1 every 10 years.
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I lived in Eagle River back in the 80's for four years, never saw a single thunderstorm the whole time.
 
Lightning causes most of the wildfires in Alaska and there's usually no shortage of those. I dropped at least 30 dead standing spruce around my cabin for fear of fire (damned bark beetles). Wasilla had a strong storm a couple of weeks ago. We get a little noise when the clouds stack up against the mountains in south Anchorage but not like what the southern states get. I love a good thunderstorm and the torrential rain in Texas.

That is a cool website. Thanks for the link!
 
Matthew said:
We get t-storms all the time in KC.

This is a pretty cool time-lapse of downtown:

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Yup, the plains get help from the dry line in western TX/OK that like to spawn some monsters. I love a good thunder/lightning show. People who grew up in the upper NE/NW US aren't used to the ferocity that the lower states see in terms of t-storm intensity.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
One of my favorite memories: Way back in a former lifetime, I was visiting my college roomate's parents. They still live in north central KS. I sat on their front porch one warm spring late afternoon and had a clear view of the southern horizon. I sipped on a beer and watched a huge thunderstorm move from west to east. Took several hours, but I got to watch the CU build into CB, see the lightning, anvil shape, the whole lifecycle. Pretty cool.

I can pass on the hail, though. I've had plenty of hail damage from those things over the years with car and roof repairs that I don't need any more of that.

In tornado season there are some pretty ominous signs - that gust front, that temperature drop, that green look to the sky, that moment when even the birds go quiet, ...
 
Matthew said:
In tornado season there are some pretty ominous signs - that gust front, that temperature drop, that green look to the sky, that moment when even the birds go quiet, ...
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Yes, you nailed it. If you are outside, nature lets you know when things are turning bad. That green look, and the dead quiet, no birds... you can just tell things are going to get bad.
 
The sound won't work or is it just me?
 
haha, sounds like my computer is radioactive and has a gieger counter is inside
 
KC is under a pretty good line of t-storms right now. That clicker is going crazy.

Turn on the "detectors" display, makes a little more action on the screen.
 
denverpilot said:
It's an incredibly short and low amplitude "click"... turn your speaker amp up... it's probably there.
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Found it when I used Firefox. I was using Safari on my iPad. For some reason the sound is completely absent there.
 
Pilawt said:
Is the "Sound" icon on the left turned on? If the icon is grey, click on it.

View attachment 55243
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Oh yes. Tried speaker, wired headset boosted with volume on max and Bluetooth into my hearing aids. Nothing. But on my PC in Firefox it works. I might have to reboot my iPad or let the OS install the update or something.
 
Matthew said:
KC is under a pretty good line of t-storms right now. That clicker is going crazy.

Turn on the "detectors" display, makes a little more action on the screen.
Click to expand...
Later that same night, I about got blown out of bed by a lightning strike that sounded like it hit my house.

Turns out my next door neighbor got it. I don't think it was a direct hit, but it caused a power spike in his house. His refrigerator was killed in such a way the icemaker water valve was stuck on. By the time he noticed, the kitchen was flooded, hardwood floor was soaked, finished basement ceiling was falling down, and basement carpet was wet. Garage door opener and a lot of electronics were smoked, too. Our DVR hasn't worked since, ATT will be here this afternoon.
 
Rushie said:
Oh yes. Tried speaker, wired headset boosted with volume on max and Bluetooth into my hearing aids. Nothing. But on my PC in Firefox it works. I might have to reboot my iPad or let the OS install the update or something.
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The little clicker is more impressive when you zoom into a small area. In a full US map, it won't click on every strike...at least I haven't found a way. I do think the "detectors" display is kind of cool.
 
Matthew said:
Later that same night, I about got blown out of bed by a lightning strike that sounded like it hit my house.

Turns out my next door neighbor got it. I don't think it was a direct hit, but it caused a power spike in his house. His refrigerator was killed in such a way the icemaker water valve was stuck on. By the time he noticed, the kitchen was flooded, hardwood floor was soaked, finished basement ceiling was falling down, and basement carpet was wet. Garage door opener and a lot of electronics were smoked, too. Our DVR hasn't worked since, ATT will be here this afternoon.
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Been there done that, except I was awake when it hit MY house. And it didn't quite do that much damage.

Before that was awake when one hit my first condo. That one travelled down a fire department standpipe and blew it open in the downstairs neighbor's unit. Flooded the entire place.

If all the stuff that doesn't work in your place goes above your homeowners deductible by a significant number, don't forget to inventory it all, take photos, and start a claim. We had enough stuff blown up that it was worth making the claim, and then found the ground wiring in one run of the basement sub-panel had been blown up, that's when it got expensive... for the insurance company.
 
I was driving a gas tanker and got hit by lightning.

Don't believe rubber tires will save you. My radio and CB radio were fried.

I carried extra skivvies....
 
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