LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 06: Lightning strikes over the Las Vegas Strip during a severe thunderstorm on September 06, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The forecast calls for a slight chance of more storms throughout the day, with drier conditions expected by Sunday, as the fourth driest monsoon season on record for Las Vegas nears its end. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The AccuWeather Lightning Network™ is a global detection system that utilizes patented, state-of-the-art sensors to deliver precise and reliable lightning data for a wide range of applications.

The AccuWeather Lightning Network™ provides more detailed and more accurate insights for every lightning strike, including strike type classification of cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground, amplitude, polarity, and precise strike location within 100 meters, empowering safer, faster,and more accurate decision-making unmatched by any other source.

In 2024, Accuweather acquired TOA Systems, Inc.'s lightning network and technology. The integration of TOA’s advanced lightning detection systems with AccuWeather’s proprietary forecasting technology and machine learning expertise will create a more comprehensive, one-of-a-kind global lightning detection network to deliver greater value to businesses, governments and the public. The service will help businesses better manage risks and understand the impact of lightning more effectively. AccuWeather’s actionable insights enable the best decisions with real-time lightning data, SkyGuard^® warnings for lightning, lightning reports and historical lightning data.

AccuWeather’s Lightning Data Protection Suite delivers historical, real-time and forecast capabilities accessible via developer-friendly channels like API’s. The suite also offers complete developer documentation so business can build proof of concepts with ease.

The solution enables customers to integrate lightning data into their safety operations, risk analysis, or asset protection, expanding AccuWeather’s competitive differentiation among current and future customers.

Lightning strikes the Empire State Building above the skyline of midtown Manhattan in New York City as seen from Weehawken, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

The data provides valuable insight in a wide variety of uses

Business operations and safety

Make the best decisions regarding business operations and keep employees and workers safer

Initiate lightning threat-based evacuations for patrons and fieldworkers
Stay in compliance with safety regulations
Know when to resume work safely to reduce downtime expense

Risk, compliance and insurance

Underwrite policies with weather risk in mind

Validate claims by analyzing correlations between lightning

Infrastructure and site assessment

Prepare reroutes or backup generations when lightning or severe weather events are near

Trigger surge protection and other emergency systems to protect equipment

Consumer Safety

Advanced notice of lightning threat in area

Overlay lightning data to build weather-aware applications

Customers create automated, configurable lightning alerts for distributed operations, including:

Detecting lightning within a point radius
Automating delivery of alerts to the right people and devices, including email, SMS, radio, PA systems and custom channels.
Scale multi-site configuration for thousands of locations
Reducing manual processes required to notify field workers to take shelter

AccuWeather's weather data and insights empower businesses to drive new value, reduce costs, streamline and optimize operations, enhance communication, keep employees safer, strengthen supply chains, make the best decisions and increase revenue.

Data delivered your way

Test drive our lightning data with a free 14-day API trial. Sign up here for an opportunity to provide valuable feedback. Want full access? Contact us.

Central US faces daily severe storms with hail, wind and tornado risks