SCO / LIVE REGIONAL FEED

Lightning Map Scotland — Live Lightning Tracker

Live Scotland lightning map showing lightning flashes detected across the Highlands, the Central Belt and Scottish coastal waters by the EUMETSAT Meteosat Third Generation Lightning Imager.

Open live map Set lightning alerts
Map loading…
Bolts show recent EUMETSAT Meteosat Third Generation Lightning Imager detections. Locations are approximate; provider and display latency vary. Lime = newest, red = 1-6h, grey = older.
COVERAGE / HONESTY

What This Map Covers

Map viewport covers Scotland and adjacent coastal waters. It shows lightning flashes detected from space by the EUMETSAT Meteosat Third Generation Lightning Imager, a few minutes after each flash. Scottish thunderstorms are mostly tied to vigorous cold fronts, showers in Atlantic polar air and occasional summer convergence over the Central Belt and the Highlands.

This is satellite optical lightning detection: it records total lightning as flashes, does not separate cloud-to-ground strikes from in-cloud flashes, and places each flash approximately rather than to the metre. It is not rainfall radar, not a forecast and not a complete storm archive. Thick cloud and processing conditions can cause flashes to be missed. This is not a Met Office product and carries no official warning status.

Safety limit: absence of a marker never proves outdoor safety. Satellite detections can be delayed or missed, and storms move between refreshes.

REGIONAL READ

Lightning Across Scotland by Region

One map, one viewport. These notes explain what the feed usually looks like over each area.

Central Belt (Edinburgh and Glasgow)

Scotland's most populated corridor sees summer convective storms when southerly winds push warm air into convergence with cooler air coming off the sea.

Highlands and Western Isles

Storms here usually arrive with Atlantic weather systems. In winter and spring, showers in cold unstable air can produce local thundersnow over high ground.

Grampians and Aberdeenshire

Daytime heating over the mountains can occasionally spark slow-moving afternoon storms that drift towards the North Sea.

SCOTLAND CITIES

Lightning maps for major cities in Scotland

Closer views centred on the largest cities in Scotland, using the same satellite lightning detections.

Edinburgh

Live map

Edinburgh sees convective lightning mainly during warm summer air surges crossing the Border or drifting over the Firth of Forth.

Open the Edinburgh lightning map →

Glasgow

Live map

The Clyde Valley is sheltered from some easterly storms but regularly catches active Atlantic fronts and the shower bands that follow them.

Open the Glasgow lightning map →
UNITED KINGDOM / NATIONS

Lightning maps for the other UK nations

Compare lightning detections elsewhere in the United Kingdom, or go back to the UK lightning map.

England lightning map

England sees more thunderstorm activity than the rest of the United Kingdom, particularly across the South East, East Anglia and the Midlands during summer plume events.

Open the England map → Wales lightning map

Wales gets its lightning mainly from Atlantic frontal bands and from storm clusters tracking up the Bristol Channel and St George's Channel.

Open the Wales map → Northern Ireland lightning map

Lightning is relatively infrequent in Northern Ireland, and most of it comes with Atlantic troughs, showers behind cold fronts and occasional summer daytime heating.

Open the Northern Ireland map →
RELATED INSTRUMENTS

Continue Your Lightning Check

LIVELightning radar

Understand detector data versus precipitation radar.

 ALERTLightning alerts

Choose a saved monitoring radius on your phone.

 SOURCEHow detection works

Source roles, refresh cadence, and stated limits.

SAFETYLightning safety

Know when to shelter and when to return outside.
FIELD NOTES

Scotland Lightning Map FAQ

Is this Scotland lightning map live?

The map requests recent flashes from EUMETSAT Meteosat Third Generation Lightning Imager. It refreshes while open, but network, satellite processing, and public-feed delays can occur.

What does the Scotland lightning map show?

It plots recent satellite-detected lightning flashes inside the Scotland regional viewport. It is a lightning-detection layer, not precipitation radar and not a forecast of the next strike.

Can I use this map instead of an official weather warning?

No. Use Met Office thunderstorm warnings and local emergency guidance. If you hear thunder, move into a substantial building or hard-topped vehicle and wait 30 minutes after the last thunder.

How common is lightning in Scotland?

Thunderstorms are much less frequent in Scotland than in southern England, and most places record only a handful of days with thunder in a typical year. Activity is most likely during warm summer spells in the Central Belt and in unstable winter showers along the west coast.

Can lightning happen during Scottish snowstorms?

Yes. Thundersnow occurs when unstable polar maritime air crosses the relatively warmer Atlantic and is forced up by the Scottish mountains, producing lightning during heavy snow showers.

Monitor a saved lightning radius on your phone.

App Store Google Play

Free Scotland lightning map Live alerts