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Full catalog/wfflma
wfflma·v1·dataset

Lightning strike mapping over Wallops, Virginia

Wallops Flight Facility Lightning Mapping Array (LMA)
atmosphere NASA GHRC_DAAC Level 1B ASCII
In plain English

What it measures. Detailed maps of where lightning is happening around Wallops, Virginia, recorded by a network of ground sensors.

How it's made. Collected by a ground-based Lightning Mapping Array that detects the radio signals lightning gives off, delivered as text files.

How & where you'd use it. Serves as a ground-truth check for space-based lightning sensors and supports studies of how storms produce lightning. Coverage is ongoing and being expanded.

What's measured

ATMOSPHERE › ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY › LIGHTNING

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2020-01-01 → ongoing
  • Measured byGROUND STATIONS (LMA)
  • Processing levelLevel 1B
  • Spatial extent-77.875, 36.294, -73.304, 39.891
  • 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 Wallops Island Flight Facility Lightning Mapping Array (WFFLMA) 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 WFFLMA data files are available from February 1, 2025 through January 10, 2026 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

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

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