WAL / LIVE REGIONAL FEED

Lightning Map Wales — Live Lightning Tracker

Live Wales lightning map showing lightning flashes detected across North, Mid and South Wales and the Welsh coast 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 Wales 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. Wales gets its lightning mainly from Atlantic frontal bands and from storm clusters tracking up the Bristol Channel and St George's Channel.

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 Wales by Region

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

South Wales and the Severn coast

Cardiff, Swansea and Newport regularly catch storms moving inland from the Bristol Channel or pushing north-east from the South West Approaches.

Mid and North Wales

High ground around Eryri (Snowdonia) and the Cambrian Mountains forces air upwards, strengthening rain bands and producing isolated lightning well away from the coast.

WALES CITIES

Lightning maps for major cities in Wales

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

Cardiff

Live map

The Welsh capital regularly sees lightning from storm systems moving north-east across the Bristol Channel and the Glamorgan coast.

Open the Cardiff 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 → Scotland lightning map

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.

Open the Scotland 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

Wales Lightning Map FAQ

Is this Wales 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 Wales lightning map show?

It plots recent satellite-detected lightning flashes inside the Wales 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.

When does Wales get the most thunderstorms?

Thunderstorms in Wales are most frequent between May and August, though western and southern coasts can see lightning with active Atlantic low-pressure systems at any time of year.

Where does lightning come ashore in Wales?

Storms often move in from the Celtic Sea and the Bristol Channel, reaching Pembrokeshire, the Gower Peninsula and the Glamorgan coast first before moving inland.

Monitor a saved lightning radius on your phone.

App Store Google Play

Free Wales lightning map Live alerts