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nalma·v1·dataset

Lightning flashes mapped over North Alabama

North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) V1
atmosphere NASA GHRC_DAAC Level 1B ASCII
In plain English

What it measures. Detailed mapping of individual lightning flashes over North Alabama, showing where and when lightning occurred.

How it's made. Recorded by a network of ground stations (the North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array) and stored as text files, available from December 2019 onward.

How & where you'd use it. Used to check the accuracy of space-based lightning sensors and to study how thunderstorms develop, including testing weather models that predict lightning.

What's measured

Atmosphere › Atmospheric Electricity › Lightning

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2001-11-01 → ongoing
  • Measured byGROUND STATIONS (LMA)
  • Processing levelLevel 1B
  • Spatial extent-88.6453, 32.7246, -84.6453, 36.7246
  • 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 North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array (NALMA) data are 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 validation of convection-resolving models that predict lightning. These NALMA data files are available from December 17, 2019 and are ongoing in ASCII format.

Get the data

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

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="nalma",
    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.