Storm Live Watch — Real-Time Worldwide Lightning & Storm Tracker
Storm Live Watch is a free, real-time worldwide storm tracker. Watch lightning strikes happen live on an interactive parchment-style map, with precipitation radar and cloud cover overlays. Updated every 10 seconds. No ads, no signup, no tracking beyond anonymous analytics.
Live Lightning Map Worldwide
Every thunderstorm, everywhere on Earth, visible in near-real-time. Lightning data comes from two complementary sources: the Blitzortung.org community VLF detection network for Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania; and NOAA GOES-19 GLM (Geostationary Lightning Mapper) satellite for the Americas. Impacts typically appear within seconds of detection.
Precipitation Radar & Cloud Cover
Live rain and snow are displayed via the RainViewer global radar composite, refreshed every 5 minutes. Cloud cover comes from OpenWeather satellite data, refreshed every 10 minutes. Toggle each overlay independently.
How to Use Storm Live Watch
- Open stormlive.watch in any modern browser.
- Allow location access to center on your area, or type a city name in the search box.
- Pan and zoom the map to any region — data is fetched dynamically for what you view.
- Click the layer toggle button to hide/show lightning, rain or clouds.
- Hover a lightning bolt to see the exact time of impact.
- Install as a PWA (Progressive Web App) on iPhone (Share → Add to Home Screen) or Android (Install prompt after 1 minute).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Storm Live Watch free?
Yes. Completely free, no ads, no signup, no premium tier. Personal non-commercial project.
Where does the lightning data come from?
Blitzortung.org community network (Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa) and NOAA GOES-19 GLM satellite (Americas). Both sources are aggregated into a single unified feed on stormlive.watch.
How current is the data?
Lightning strikes appear within 5-40 seconds of detection. Rain radar refreshes every 5 minutes. Cloud cover every 10 minutes. The rolling window shown on the map is 30 minutes.
Does Storm Live Watch work on mobile?
Yes. Fully responsive design. Available as a Progressive Web App installable on iOS (Safari) and Android (Chrome/Edge).
Which regions are covered?
Worldwide. Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania via Blitzortung; North America, South America and Central America via NOAA GLM. The map covers all populated latitudes.
Is my location tracked?
No. Geolocation is used only client-side to center the map on your area. Nothing is stored on the server. Analytics are anonymous (Google Analytics with IP anonymization).
Alternative Names
Storm Live Watch is also referred to as: StormLive, Storm Live, Live Storm Tracker, Real-Time Lightning Map, Live Lightning Tracker, Worldwide Storm Map, Blitzortung Viewer, Observatoire des Orages (French), Observatorio de Tormentas (Spanish), Gewitter-Observatorium (German), Osservatorio Tempeste (Italian).
Credits & Data Sources
- Blitzortung.org — community lightning detection network
- NOAA NESDIS — GOES-19 GLM satellite data (public domain)
- RainViewer — global precipitation radar
- OpenWeather — cloud cover tiles
- Stadia Maps & Stamen Design — vintage watercolor basemap
- OpenStreetMap — geographic base data