Lightning AlertsStrikes on a live map
See where a dry storm's lightning lands, with the newest strikes in red and the age of each one.
Live lightning map · iOS and Android
See where dry lightning strikes.
Dry lightning comes from storms whose rain evaporates before it lands, so it strikes dry ground. See the strikes on the live map, look back at the last 7 days around home and get alerts when lightning comes near.
Little rain. Live strikes.
See dry lightning near you
Rain around the strikes
Tap Radar to see the rain around the strikes, then play it to see which way the storm has moved.
The last 7 days
Strike history shows where lightning struck around your location and your saved place over the last 7 days.
Dry lightning guide
What to know about dry lightning
The basics from NOAA, the US Forest Service and fire researchers, with a link to each source.
- 0.1 in of rain (2.5 mm) or less near a strike is how the US Forest Service defines dry lightning west of the Mississippi.
- Hours to weeks can pass before a fire that lightning started is first reported, according to a 2023 global study.
What dry lightning is
Dry lightning is lightning without rain nearby. It comes from thunderstorms whose rain evaporates in the dry air below the cloud before it reaches the ground. You can sometimes see that rain as gray streaks, called virga, that end in mid-air. For fire weather, a storm counts as dry when its rain is too light to soak the grass, leaves and wood that fires burn, often a tenth of an inch (2.5 mm) or less.
Sources: NOAA NSSL · NWS Albuquerque
Why it starts fires
Lightning that hits dry grass, leaf litter or a dead tree can start a fire, and with no rain to wet the ground, the fire can take hold. Even a storm with a wet core can strike outside the area where its rain soaks the ground. In the western United States, where dry thunderstorms are common in summer, they are the most common natural cause of wildfires.
Sources: US Forest Service · NWS Albuquerque
Fires that start days later
A strike does not always start a fire at once. A fire can smolder inside a tree or in the soil around it for hours, days or even weeks before anyone reports smoke. Researchers call this the holdover time, and the US Forest Service maps the places dry lightning hit right after storms pass.
Sources: Moris et al. 2023 (ESSD) · US Forest Service
We checked these sources on October 24, 2026. They are not affiliated with Lightning Alerts and do not endorse the app.
In the app
From the live map to the last 7 days
Radar under the strikes, the last 7 days of strike history and alerts for a saved place, as they look in the app.
Radar with lightning
Compare rain movement with nearby strikes.
The last 7 days
Totals for the whole week, and a map with each day's strikes in its own color.
Alert areas
See on the map how far your alerts reach.
Dry lightning in the app: quick answers
See a dry storm's strikes, look back at where lightning struck near home and get alerts for a place you care about.
How can I see dry lightning near me?
Open the live map: strikes from the last 10 minutes are red, then orange and pale yellow up to 60 minutes old. Tap Radar to see the rain around the strikes. Then tap Find and choose Closest to me to see how far away the nearest strike is and in which direction.
Did lightning strike near my property after a dry storm?
Tap Find, then the row under Strike history, and choose your saved place at the top. You see the last 7 days around it: the storms, the closest strike and strikes per hour. Tap an hour, then Replay this hour, and tap a strike to see how far from the place it struck, in which direction and at what time.
Can I get an alert when lightning is detected near my property?
Yes. Save the property as your saved place, such as a farm, a cabin or a holiday home, and turn on Lightning alerts. My Location and the saved place each get their own alert distance. Each alert says how many strikes were detected, how close the closest one is and how recent they are. Tap an alert to see its closest strike on the live map, with a line from the saved place that shows how far away it is.
Which way is the dry storm moving?
With radar on, start radar playback to see how the rain has moved. On the live map, the newest red strikes show where the storm is active now, so you can see whether it is heading toward your place.
Watch dry storms with Lightning Alerts
Live strikes, radar, strike history and alerts in one focused lightning app.
Backed by lightning data
Enterprise-grade lightning data places each detected strike on the map.
Your place while you are away
Save a farm, a cabin or a holiday home and look back at the last 7 days of lightning around it.
Free to use
The free version includes the live map, radar, alerts and strike history, with ads. Pro removes ads and replays every storm.