Distribution of lightning

Lightning flash density – 12 hourly averages over the year (NASA OTD/LIS) This shows that lightning is much more frequent in summer than in winter, and from noon to midnight compared to midnight to noon.

The distribution of lightning, or the incidence of individual strikes, in any particular place is highly dependent on its location, climate, and time of year. Lightning does have an underlying spatial distribution. High quality lightning data has only recently become available, but the data indicates that lightning occurs on average 44±5 times every second over the entire Earth, making a total of about 1.4 billion flashes per year.[1][2]

  1. ^ John E. Oliver (2005). Encyclopedia of World Climatology. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ISBN 978-1-4020-3264-6. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
  2. ^ "Annual Lightning Flash Rate". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2013.