Most lightning is in the afternoon
| This movie shows the location of lightning flashes worldwide over the course of a day, separated by the local time at the place of observation. Most lightning occurs between 1 pm and 6 pm local time. The data come from NASA'a space-based Optical Transient Detector instrument. Each frame of this 24-hour movie represents global lightning observed during that hour. The movie starts at local midnight; a "clock" appears in the tropical mid-Pacific to the southeast of Hawaii, and indicates the local time everywhere on the map. (The center of the clock is a small +, and the hour indicator is an *.) Note the maximum lightning rates occurs at about 1500-1600 local time (3-4 pm). |
Credit: NASA Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) Instrument Science Team and the Global Hydrology and Climate Center located in Huntsville, Alabama.
For more info: http://thunder.msfc.nasa.gov