In the past, (before getting the app) I would warn my golf buddies that we probably shouldn't be out playing when thunder was present and lightning visible in the distance. They would come up with a number of excuses why we should just play and take our chances and get the round over with. Since getting the app, I'm now able to objectively show them the actual lightning activity and the direction the storm is traveling. They no longer call me a "baby" about thunderstorms because they can see for themselves whether or not we're in the line of fire. Many of them have since loaded the app on their phone. I highly recommend this app for anybody and everybody! My only suggestion is that they add a "resource tab" of information and links on the do's and don'ts when it comes to experiencing thunderstorms.
Relax, I just wanted to get your attention. This app is an such an invaluable tool. Also, I’ve waited several years of using this app before writing my review. So if you live in an area like Washington State specifically in areas like mine. It’s the high desert with multiple types of thick vegetation and dense forests. Well occasionally we have storms producing dry lighting. Our problem is that we are a state that has poor forest management and limited resources. I said all that to say this. I’m pretty thankful for the app. It’s accurate to the point that we have responded to lightning strikes before dispatch even notified us of the fire it caused. This happened more than once, saving property as well as limiting the amount of resources it would normally take for such fires. Sköl, app developers! I appreciate you.
I am a Ham Radio Operator, this app gives me the perfect live data I need to know when to disconnect my antennas. The adjustable settings for lighting alerts is simply amazing. I leave mine set at 30 miles, that’s plenty of time to see the alert and be able to disconnect antennas, you can set it from 0-200 miles for your preference. Being able to zoom in and out around the world and see what a storm is doing somewhere else is a interesting feature in this app. Being able to click on individual strikes to see the distance from your location is a great feature as well. Only time this feature has bothered me is when it said 30ft HIHI. If you need a accurate live lighting map that allows all these features for free this is the one.
“Lightning” gives us the amazing ability to tap into a network of radio receiving stations scattered around the world which can detect individual lighting bolts over practically the entirety of Earth’s surface. Data arrive within 1 to 3 minutes and we can be alerted when it’s time to unplug our computers (even if they’re protected by surge protectors, which are apt to be insufficient matches to a billion-volt lightning strike anywhere nearby). The app lets us see where lightning is now and where it is the most on average over a full year. And it can teach us just how intense a lightning bombardment can be, with a storm so intense that the dots cover the map several times over. Strikes up to one hour old are shown, with three color codes for time since detection.
I installed this app to help with notifications of lightning strikes in the area. We have an antenna and mast that stands in our back yard. When storms are in the area, we lower our antenna to reduce the chance of a strike. This app, I thought at the time, would be a great help. Once installed, and permission given for notifications, it seemed to work fine later that day when it notifies us of lightning strikes in the area. That’s when I noticed something else about the app. I started getting warnings about possible security issues on our home network. They were identified as coming from same Internal IP address as my iPad. Only my iPad, and nothing else. After several check and further warnings from our network, I removed the app. I have not had those warnings since. I’ll leave it up to Apple and you as to whether you should install it. As for us, we will not be using it. I have never had an app trip our security before, and nothing since removing it.
This app is not cool. There is nothing exciting about it instead it just works. It’s simple accurate and enables people who live in places where thunderstorms are possible everyday during no summer etc. to work safely through rainstorms. NLSI recommends stopping work for 30 minutes if lightning strikes within 6 mi of you. This simple app takes the guesswork out of enforcing this policy. With the zoom to nearest strike function you simply open the app and it shows you the nearest strike and distance from you. App has radar function and map choice options but that’s it perfect simple I wish more apps were designed to function simply effectively and efficiently and not try to do everything and have too many options. Thank you guys
When posting is remove you there just happens to be a very strong thunderstorm and lots of warnings in my area this really helped to tell me where all the thunder and lightning was I loved how you had thunder noises to pick the notification that was really cool I chose thunder 2 this app can really help you and make sure instead of doing the location while using the app I chose always and found that you’ll get better notifications annoying if there’s actual lightning strikes with the location on always you can choose different sounds or you can choose the amount of radius you want the lightning thing to be I really enjoy this app and I really want everyone to get this app it is super amazing please get it thank you 🙂
I will keep track what had happened during these extreme weather events and I will be used to that in the Australia, in the outback in places like Alice Springs in the Australia’s Northern Territory are tracking storms hit in the summer months while it is winter here and lightning strikes can be bad hit the areas of NT in the Australian outback. There are so lightning strikes in the Lasseter district , in the areas like in Yulara, in the township near Uluru has places hit hard during storms with the most cloud to ground lightning strikes hit the area and take precautions to be safe during a lightning storm. Lightning is one of the most powerful forces of nature and it is very dangerous when lightning strikes. Please be careful aware of severe thunderstorms hit the area in the Northern Territory, Australia.
Reliable lightning alert app but could use a little tweaking
This app for seeing detected and getting alerted of real-time lightning strikes is pretty good and actually does its job alerting you about them for the most part through push notifications. And the alerting time interval and radial distance settings are also a very good and useful +. But, I really wish that the push notifications alert messages would also include the DISTANCE of the nearest / latest strike instead of just displaying that lightning was detected. Then, the alerting aspect would be A Lot more useful if this was also included every time the app is set to alert you, despite the radial distance set from the location. This is because I'd want to know how close the latest strike is. Especially if the storm(s) is moving toward set location for push alerts.
I enjoy capturing low frequency radio clicks from lightning strikes, photographing lighting, and am hoping to attempt sprite observation this summer. The radar maps in this app are tremendously useful for all of these endeavors. The app does ALMOST everything I want it to. My only suggestion would be to add the ability to be notified of lightning strikes in an alternate area besides just your current location. As per the previously mentioned sprite observation, it would be useful to be notified of thunderstorms within a certain corridor to the east of my location. That way, when combined with clear sky condition notifications from AstroSpheric for my observing locations (east of the Rockies, looking out over the plains), I can know when my best chances of actually spotting sprites will be happening.
I’m a pilot and like most wingnuts we are kind of weather geeks. However this is real world , relevant intel that is pertain-able to safe operations. Took a lot of classes in college over the course of 6 years of study ( don’t laugh , I finally graduated after changing my major 3 times ). Meteorology was probably the most useful knowledge I acquired & Calculus being the least applicable info I think that I ever had to digest ( heartburn ) . Get this app and you’ll. Be surprised how much you’ll use it. Keeping the family safe during the kids outdoor sporting events, or summiting the Grand Teton in a summer afternoon. Knowing the proximity of lighting is critical. Read “ Bolt from the Blue “ and other stories of climbing and the hazards of Lighting. GREAT APP !
Great lightning detection! Would like to see “saved location” feature!
This is one of the best lightning detection apps out there! Reliable strike data, color coded time dots, and nice push notifications. I would love to see the ability to add some saved locations to the app and send push notifications based on those saved locations. You can manually turn off the auto-update location feature to have the app just fixed on one point and notify based on that point but then you lose current location notifications. Having a saved location in addition to current location would help me to monitor lightning at a sports practice location for example.
We have been using this app while sailing for several seasons. Extremely happy with it. It has granted us the forewarning of lightning that might be blowing our direction. We’ve always been able to safely avoid lightning because of this app. Sailboats tend to come equipped with a thirty+ foot lightning rod, making lightning warning extremely important. I never want to be on the water without it. Also, this season we just realized that it has radar also. It’s nice to switch to the radar function to see what’s coming up, but we have been extremely happy with being able to choose a diameter with for lightning tracking.
The app is easy to use. The strike location points change color based on age which makes clear where the most recent activity is. It was useful the following night when some storms were cruising by at a distance and I setup my tripod and cam to get some shots from the balcony. I would have missed it otherwise. Not considered in the rating as the radar feature is new. Radar is presented as static current view (no animation of recent movement). Some of the tiles don’t load and with no refresh button I can’t force it to reload it easily. I just bought the paid version to support the app dev and remove the ads.
Update: the developer responded to this review to let me know that there was a temporary issue that caused a disruption. I got the sense it was a problem external to the app. It seems to be fine now and I give high marks for the developer that took time to respond. Previous 1 star review text follows...This used to be reliable, but the latest update seems to have completely broken it. Will alert me, but not show me lightning strikes on the map. Then it hangs when I try to select my location. If I move the map and then relocate myself (when I can get that feature to work) it will then show strikes. Kind of useless now.
Had the app open during a thunderstorm. Watched the map update with nearby strikes. Never received a notification of lightning in the area. I adjusted the radius multiple times but no change. Unable to report a problem because the link isn’t working. Update: notifications don’t sound when the app is open. Since I left my original review I’ve had to reset my phone and change some settings. The next storm came through and I received several notifications. I work outside so it is extremely helpful having this app to stay safe. Thanks for the app!
Cannot say thank you enough for providing this app for use to the public. I have horses and it’s dangerous for them to be outside when thunderstorms pop up due to the steel shoes they wear. I watch all of my weather apps religiously (both paid and free), and still it’s the Lightning app that gives me the most advanced heads up of inclement weather. More than once it’s woken me up at 2 am alerting me about an incoming storm, after putting the animals outside for the night with a 0% chance of storms from other apps. Huge thank you for this tool. It’s immensely beneficial.
I use this app at home & professionally. I am Wildland Firefighter / Paramedic and also work as a Paramedic with Remote Exploration Crews. “My Lightening Tracker” is invaluable. I have use other weather Apps that work quite well but “My Lightening Tracker” is the best for tracking lightning. It is my “go to” to keeps my family, crews & me safe. I use it to track potential wildfire starts after storms because the accuracy has proven itself time and time again. I used the free Version for a long time, but the $3.99 for “Pro” has been money well spent! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
I down loaded this app few years ago to utilize during the summer time to watch for lightning within a certain mileage when swimming in a swimming pool here in Florida. I love that I get notifications to get out of the water within 10 miles. The only thing about this app that seems a but far-fetched is the accuracy of an actual lightning strike. how they can exactly pinpoint where a strike occurs? Overall is an Awesome app and I utilize it along with my other weather tracking apps frequently during the summertime storm season👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
What a lifesaver. Glad I found this tool. Paid for the pro version too. I now use this more than any other weather app. I don’t mind a little rain. I do mind lightning. If I could make one small suggestion, I’d request that verbiage such as “increasing the value” be more clear to something like “increasing the frequency.” In terms of time on the vertical scale, I perceive increasing a value in two ways; either an increase in frequency (up the scale) or an increase in number (down the scale, reduced frequency). Thanks much for saving lives!!!
I’m a photographer specializing in nature photography. I love photographing lightening and sometimes we get great opportunities here in South Texas. Thunderstorms tend to have a fairly short life cycle, so you have to be able to get out there and set up quickly. You have to be in the right place at the right time. This app is an outstanding tool for that purpose. The detection and plotting of lightening strikes is very near real time. The push notices are excellent. I love that you can set the radius for alerts and set a schedule for silencing them. Many thanks to the folks that created this. Outstanding!
I generally don’t rate or promote apps, but this lightning app is surprisingly good for free. Gives real time lightning strikes, and better radar than the weather channel. But what was real cool is the accuracy of the GPS and map. We were hiking, came to a fork and weren’t sure which was to go. Since lightning storm was close I had the app up and it showed exactly where we were, showed the trails, showed as we moved on the trails, and showed the storm and lightning strikes. Highly recommend.
Really love this app. It’s been great to track storms moving through the area, especially if I’m working in the field. I have noticed that sometimes it shows very few lightning strikes compared to actual strikes and I usually have to reboot the app to get a more accurate view. I also wish there was a way to zoom in to the most recent strike; not just the closest. I’d like to see if the storm is increasing in intensity or decreasing. Other than that, it’s a great app and I’d highly recommend it.
I’m not one to write reviews but figured I might as well put it in writing since I’ve told so many people. I downloaded this app once moving to Florida (with all these crazy summer Florida lighting storms like I’ve have never seen before) and I go into the pool and hot tub very regularly which is why I looked for app for lighting. This app has been correct every single time. When I hear my phone go off with the warning you betcha I get out of the pool.
This app is a life saver for someone like me, who is terrified of lightning to the point of not leaving where I am until it’s gone. I can monitor how close the lightning is and I can see when it stops, and I can see if a storm is heading in my direction. I base when I leave places on stormy days around this app. Sometimes I’ll hear a strike outside and I’ll open up this app and I’ll see exactly where it hit. I definitely recommend for anyone who loves or hates lightning, and I’m really grateful that this app exists.
This app is great - we have dogs who are terrified of lightning and thunder, and it really helps to know that’s it’s headed our way. If storms have not been forecasted, or if we have a bright blue, sunny sky, yet a storm is just five miles away, it gives us time to get the Thundershirts out and the calming treats started! Also, we watched on the app’s map once, as lightning moved right up our street, and it’s very accurate. It said we had a strike 70ft. away in our backyard, and we sure did. The accuracy is amazing!
This app provides warnings about lightning nearby. I didn’t want to kill my battery and have my location and use all the time so I disabled the location monitoring for this app except for when the app was in use. Even without having the app open, I still get a notification of lightning nearby. If I want my information I can get into the app and see what is specific but even without having app open the information is good.
Your lighting alarm no longer works!! Someone correct this glitch. In the center up on top of my iPhone Mac Plus screen there is a red bell that shows up with a line through the bell every time I would touch the volume button on the left hand side of the phone. I have done what I could to get the red bell un muted but it but it keeps coming up muted it seems. That’s the only thing I notice could be causing the volume not to be heard. I truly apologize it’s just frustrating when lighting does happen the phone will flash but with no volume.
The app allows you to customize the alert radius you desire, there are several notification sounds to choose from, and the strikes disappear from the alert radius at time frames you specify. So if your company has a policy that no outside work can occur if lightning is within 10 miles and you can’t return to work for 30 minutes after lightning has left the 10 mile radius, it’s really easy to determine. I paid for Pro to thank the developer!
Keith R.Carey I fish and sometimes you can’t see coming over the hills and trees around the rivers & Lakes I fish! I check my phone a few times to check weather !! They use to have a siren to warn you that’s a weather bulletin danger in your area! They don’t have that and when you’re a little hard hearing that really helped with a vibration. I wish they’d bring that back!!! It was a lot safer fo citizens as far as the watch & warnings go???
This app is amazing, I live in FL with frequent random thunderstorms and kids that like to swim. This app is so accurate down to the exact spot - I watched lightning hit 5 houses down and checked the app and it showed exactly where it hit and it was 400ft away from my location. Other times during a storm, I’ve received an alert then saw lightning and the app buzzed before we even heard the thunder! It’s almost instantaneous. A must have app!!
This app hands down has the best real-time lightning data available to the public! And animation included for free! I run a similar lightning website for grlevelx software (freelightning dot com) and this app has helped me very much! I highly recommend it for staying updated when dangerous lightning is approaching. 5/5 stars! I don’t know what else to even suggest as this app has it all! Thank you! -Derek
This works very well and in a timely manner as I work on a USAF flight line that gets plenty of lightning. It is better to know immediately if you need to take shelter rather than seeing how well you can take a lightning zap. I really like this application and use it all the time. 5 September 2023: still depend on this application, hasn’t let me down, get this one, it alerts as and when you need it to.
Great app. The mileage could be more controllable.
The app is great, but I with you could type in the number for the settings of the distance for the alert. There is a specific distance that is important to my job, and it would be great to be able to set one alert for just outside that distance and one for that actual distance, but it is difficult to get the numbers right on the slider.
Used the app for five minutes and I’m sold. I bought the Pro version just because I think they’ve done such a great job with this app. Been looking for something like this for years - simple, straightforward, gets the job done. Find out where lightning is, how close, what time, and get notifications. Everything I’ve wanted. Thank you. Enjoy your bonus $ for a job well done.
I have always been super fascinated in thunderstorms. This tracker is the best I’ve come across. It alerts you when lightning is near, it shows where they are most likely to strike, the clouds, and more. Most of the time, the clouds and strikes don’t fully load. So, it’s hard to tell where to look for strikes. But that’s the only problem I have ever had with this app but trust me, it’s still worth it.
I have a pretty strong phobia of thunderstorms. I love the Lightning app because I often plan long outdoor activities and don’t want to cancel them or worry the whole time if there is a storm risk for the day. With Lightning, I can be notified in real time whenever there are strikes in the area, giving me ample time to react, and not have anxiety about planning it all out ahead of time.
I found your app when my lightning alert on another app stopped working. I downloaded and setup the app for a 35 miles radius! Today, about 3 weeks after I installed it, it alerted me to lightning just coming into range(35 miles). My radar and weather app said nothing until it was with in 10 miles!!!! I work outside and as soon as it appeared to be headed towards me, I sought shelter. A REALLY GREAT APPLICATION, I would recommend it to anyone.
This app is going to get someone killed. There is no such thing as any sort of free real time lightning detection. As this app builder may want to research there are some big legalities behind providing lightning data to the public. I use a commercial weather company which does provide real time lightning data provided by the NLDN. In the example I just ran it shows 1 strike about 12 miles from my location. Where my commercial app shows 179 within my 8 mile “do not be outside” range. I let this app run for 15 minutes as it again states and nothing changed. If you need this for more then personal use do some research on real weather companies.
Very easy to read and understand. The settings for distance allow you to tailor your notices to whatever league rules are applicable. You then only get notices when lightening is within that distance. You can focus on the game and once you get your notice, it is easy to share the information too.
Love this app it’s super useful and really cool to see lightning happening in real time! Small suggestion would be to make this app an Audio Unit & IAA for experimental musicians & people into modular where each lighting strike is sent out as midi data that music, visualizer, or generative apps could connect with and use to create in sync with lighting happening. Regardless I love the app and am happy to have it. Thanks so much :)
I’m able to track approaching storms as far out as I want to, but I keep it to around 8 miles out. The lightning strikes are almost real-time. It has became a vital part of our local public radio station. I rely on this app to tell me how close the lighting strikes are to the station. Very good app if you want real-time accuracy of the storms approaching your area.
First off an amazing app. On the iPhone can you make the notification automatically take you to the last or most recent strike when you Click on notifications. And do you have a feature to be able to know when the last strike hit. Like for an all clear after 30min....For Another notification to be integrated. Would make this the #1 app I think. Thanks.
I’ve been enjoying this app for about a year from the perspective of one who photographs lightning. It does a good job of alerting me of local lightning strikes. The recent addition of radar is a big help. The only things I could ask for is a 15, 30, 60 minute playback to better see where it’s coming from and where it’s going. Otherwise, best lightning related app!
I have been interested in photographing lightening for several years. I live in West Virginia. It is difficult to determine when and where lightening is going to be during a storm due to our mountainous terrain. This app is perfect. Not only does it give me adequate location, I get it by address and distance from my current location. Game changer for me.
I found this app in a search and thought it would benefit my service as a flight instructor...maybe. I have not been able to make it locate my position. As such, it defaults to Europe when opening. Seems to be accurate and updated in the pictorial display. Update: With a little review, I found the error is mine. This app now works great!
I use this app to know when it’s safe to swim. I also use it for when i’m going to wash my hair. It takes me about an hour to comb through my hair, so having the app tell me there’s lightning lets me know when I have to get out. Before I used to have to listen closely, and be spooked by every sound I heard.
The app lets you see where the strike was on the map! It is only exciting if you saw the actual strike and wanted to pin point the strike on a map! Having been on the fire 🔥 towers this app would have been invaluable to pin point a strike! I am assuming that there is satellites that can do this now?
I’m somewhat disappointed with this app I throughly that it would be a lot better then ‘his I heart the notifications sounds on my phone but that’s it it doesn’t show me me exact location of the lightening or where it’s coming from there is just this very broad yellow color that’s covering the whole screen like I just said I don’t see where lightening is I just see this very broad yellow color on the entire screen on my cell phone and I don’t know what this means please correct this feature on this app thank you
I really like the thunder notifications when there is an indication or lightning within my area . It is the work horse for us at public events , or when I’m camping ! I also work in the public safety arena and it gives up a heads up when we are outside .
My Lightning Tracker is the best app for monitoring lightning strikes all around the world in close to real-time. With a sleek modern design, you can watch thunderstorms as they occur. You can also receive notifications whenever strikes are detected in your area. - Detects and displays lightning strikes all around the world! - See a history of hotspots where lightning strikes occur most often! - View more detailed information about where the thunderstorm is occurring on a map. - Receive a lightning alarm when a storm is nearby so that you can monitor it live. - Share a strike with your friends so that they can see where the thunder & lightning is occurring too! - Monitor the weather radar to track what could be coming. - Full support for the latest iPhone and iPad models. If you want the most efficient way of keeping up lightning strikes and thunderstorms, then My Lightning Tracker is the right lightning network for you. This version is ad-supported and is similar to apps such as Blitzortung, Clime, Spark and Live Lightning.
