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Full catalog/dclma
dclma·v1·dataset

Lightning strike mapping over Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. Lightning Mapping Array (LMA)
atmosphere NASA GHRC_DAAC Level 1B ASCII
In plain English

What it measures. Detailed maps of where lightning is happening in and around Washington, D.C., recorded by a network of ground sensors.

How it's made. Collected by a ground-based Lightning Mapping Array of stations that pick up the radio signals from lightning, delivered as text files.

How & where you'd use it. Used as a ground-truth check for space-based lightning sensors and for studying how thunderstorms develop and produce lightning. Coverage runs through 2025 and is being expanded.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY › LIGHTNING

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2020-02-08 → ongoing
  • Measured byGROUND STATIONS (LMA)
  • Processing levelLevel 1B
  • Spatial extent-79.346, 37.091, -74.724, 40.688
  • FormatsASCII
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Map air pollutants — NO₂, aerosols, ozone
  • Track greenhouse gases and Earth's energy budget
  • Feed weather and air-quality analysis
Official description

The Washington D.C. Lightning Mapping Array (DCLMA) dataset collection is used to validate the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) on the International Space Station (ISS), the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) instrument, and other current and future lightning measurements. These data are also used in convective storm process studies, including but not limited to the validation of convection-resolving models that predict lightning. The DCLMA data files are available from February 1, 2025 through December 28, 2025 and are ongoing in ASCII format. NOTE: This dataset is actively being worked on to backfill older data and to update this to an ongoing dataset.

Get the data

dclma_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="dclma",
    version="1",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from GHRC_DAAC
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.