Lightning Threats
https://data.api.xweather.com/lightning/threats/The lightning threats endpoint provides access to lightning nowcasts, providing up to 60 minutes of potential thunderstorm activity in 10-minute intervals. Lightning threats are available globally and based on Vaisala’s high-quality lightning data.
Requests
Every request to the endpoint must include one of the supported actions in the url.
https://data.api.xweather.com/lightning/threats/{action}?client_id={client_id}&client_secret={client_secret}&{params}Supported Actions
The following actions are supported with the /lightning/threats endpoint:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| :id | Type: stringTypically used for passing a geographical location name or identifier such as city name, lat/long, or even US and Canadian postal codes. Learn more. |
| closest | Type: stringBased on a location search, the results will be returned in order from closest to farthest. Learn more. |
| contains | Type: stringUsed with polygon based products (convective outlook, drought monitor, etc.) to determine if the queried location is inside of an impacted area. Learn more. |
| affects | Type: stringReturns a list of locations that are currently affected by a weather event. Criteria for the location(s) can be determined in your query parameters. Learn more. |
| route | Type: stringAllows you to pass several coordinates along a custom route to return data points at each location. Learn more. |
Response
The following is an example of what each object in the response will consist of. Depending on your requested action, the response may contain multiple instances of this object within an array.
Properties
id (string)
The Lightning Storm Threat ID
dataSource (string)
The lightning threats data source. Supported sources:
- vaisala-lightning
details (object)
Object containing information about the lightning threat.
details.stormId (string)
The Lightning Storm Threat ID
details.issuedTimestamp (number)
The unix timestamp of date/time the lightning storm threat was issued
details.issuedDateTimeISO (string)
The date/time the lightning storm threat was issued in ISO8601 format
details.range (object)
Object containing information about the range of the lightning storm threat.
details.range.minTimestamp (number)
The unix timestamp of the start of the lightning storm threat
details.range.minDateTimeISO (string)
The date/time of the start of the lightning storm threat in ISO8601 format
details.range.maxTimestamp (number)
The unix timestamp of the end of the lightning storm threat
details.range.maxDateTimeISO (string)
The date/time of the end of the lightning storm threat in ISO8601 format
details.severe (boolean)
Flag indicating if the lightning storm threat is severe
details.movement (object)
Object containing information about the movement of the lightning storm threat.
details.movement.dirDEG (number)
The direction of the movement of the lightning storm threat in degrees. 0 degrees is North, 90 degrees is East, 180 degrees is South, 270 degrees is West.
details.movement.dir (string)
The direction of the movement of the lightning storm threat. Possible values: N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW
details.movement.speedKTS (number)
The speed of the movement of the lightning storm threat in knots
details.movement.speedKPH (number)
The speed of the movement of the lightning storm threat in kilometers per hour
details.movement.speedMPH (number)
The speed of the movement of the lightning storm threat in miles per hour
details.movement.speedMPS (number)
The speed of the movement of the lightning storm threat in meters per second
details.movement.reliability (string)
The reliability of the estimated threat movement information:
- NOT_AVAILABLE: Not enough history available to estimate motion
- UNPHYSICAL: Estimated storm motion exceeds 120 km/h
- LOW: The default assumption once any given storm has enough history of initializing its motion estimate.
- MEDIUM: LOW reliability can be promoted to MEDIUM or HIGH once there is enough consistency between recent storm motion estimates.
- HIGH: LOW reliability can be promoted to MEDIUM or HIGH once there is enough consistency between recent storm motion estimates.
details.totalPeriods (number)
The total number of 10 mimute periods in the lightning storm threat
periods (array)
Array of objects containing information about the 10 minute lightning storm threat periods.
periods.#.id (string)
The ID string for the 10 minute threat forecast period
periods.#.range (object)
Object containing information about the range of the 10 minute lightning storm threat period.
periods.#.range.minTimestamp (number)
The unix timestamp of the start of the 10 minute lightning storm threat period
periods.#.range.minDateTimeISO (string)
The date/time of the start of the 10 minute lightning storm threat period in ISO8601 format
periods.#.range.maxTimestamp (number)
The unix timestamp of the end of the 10 minute lightning storm threat period
periods.#.range.maxDateTimeISO (string)
The date/time of the end of the 10 minute lightning storm threat period in ISO8601 format
periods.#.centroid (object)
A GeoJSON point object representing the centroid of the coverage area polygon for the period
periods.#.centroid.type (string)
The GeoJSON type of the centroid object. Always Point.
periods.#.centroid.coordinates (array)
The GeoJSON coordinates of the centroid object. Array of longitude and latitude.
periods.#.polygon (object)
A GeoJSON polygon object representing the threat coverage area for the period
periods.#.polygon.type (string)
The GeoJSON type of the polygon object. Always Polygon.
periods.#.polygon.coordinates (array)
The GeoJSON coordinates of the polygon object. Array of longitude and latitude.
forecastPath (object)
A GeoJSON line string representing the estimated direction of the storm. Null if not available.
forecastPath.type (string)
The GeoJSON type of the line string object. Always LineString.
forecastPath.coordinates (array)
The GeoJSON coordinates of the line string object. Array of longitude and latitude.
profile (object)
Object containing information about the location or event.
profile.tz (string)
Timezone name of the location, such as America/New_York.
[
{
"id": "159426460",
"dataSource": "vaisala-lightning",
"details": {
"stormId": "159426460",
"issuedTimestamp": 1702584720,
"issuedDateTimeISO": "2023-12-14T16:12:00-04:00",
"range": {
"minTimestamp": 1702584720,
"minDateTimeISO": "2023-12-14T16:12:00-04:00",
"maxTimestamp": 1702585320,
"maxDateTimeISO": "2023-12-14T16:22:00-04:00"
},
"severe": false,
"movement": {
"dirDEG": 355,
"dir": "N",
"speedKTS": 19.22,
"speedKPH": 35.6,
"speedMPH": 22.12,
"speedMPS": 9.89,
"reliability": "LOW"
},
"totalPeriods": 1
},
"periods": [
{
"id": "159426460-1702585320",
"range": {
"minTimestamp": 1702584720,
"minDateTimeISO": "2023-12-14T16:12:00-04:00",
"maxTimestamp": 1702585320,
"maxDateTimeISO": "2023-12-14T16:22:00-04:00"
},
"centroid": {
"type": "Point",
"coordinates": [
-56.77823,
-20.33062
]
},
"polygon": {
"type": "Polygon",
"coordinates": [
[
[
-56.88703,
-20.44067
],
[
-56.89945,
-20.43903
],
[
-56.91103,
-20.43423
],
[
-56.92097,
-20.42661
],
[
-56.9286,
-20.41667
],
[
-56.93339,
-20.40509
],
[
-56.93383,
-20.40222
],
[
-56.93547,
-20.3898
],
[
-56.93383,
-20.37738
],
[
-56.92904,
-20.3658
],
[
-56.85074,
-20.24164
],
[
-56.84312,
-20.23171
],
[
-56.83318,
-20.22408
],
[
-56.78695,
-20.19249
],
[
-56.77539,
-20.1877
],
[
-56.76298,
-20.18607
],
[
-56.75056,
-20.1877
],
[
-56.73442,
-20.19414
],
[
-56.72285,
-20.19893
],
[
-56.71292,
-20.20655
],
[
-56.7053,
-20.21648
],
[
-56.68842,
-20.24039
],
[
-56.68362,
-20.25196
],
[
-56.68199,
-20.26437
],
[
-56.68428,
-20.30334
],
[
-56.68592,
-20.31576
],
[
-56.69228,
-20.36332
],
[
-56.69707,
-20.3749
],
[
-56.7047,
-20.38483
],
[
-56.71463,
-20.39246
],
[
-56.72621,
-20.39725
],
[
-56.87461,
-20.43903
],
[
-56.88703,
-20.44067
]
]
]
}
}
],
"forecastPath": {
"type": "LineString",
"coordinates": [
[
-56.78325,
-20.27726
],
[
-56.75311,
-20.59743
]
]
},
"profile": {
"tz": "America/Campo_Grande"
}
}
]