AB / LIVE REGIONAL FEED

Alberta Lightning Map — Live Strikes

Live Alberta lightning map with recent strikes detected by NOAA GOES GLM satellites. Not an Environment and Climate Change Canada warning.

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Bolts show recent NOAA GOES East/West GLM 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 Alberta using recent NOAA GOES East and West Geostationary Lightning Mapper flashes. Alberta runs from open prairie in the east up to the Rocky Mountain front in the west, a boundary where summer convection often initiates before tracking out over the plains. The viewport spans the whole province, including Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer. Thunderstorms here are a warm-season pattern, generally May through August.

GLM detects optical flashes from orbit. It does not classify every marker as a cloud-to-ground strike, replace Canadian weather radar, or predict where lightning will hit next. This is not an Environment and Climate Change Canada product and carries no warning status. GLM sits in geostationary orbit above the equator, so it sees Alberta at an increasingly shallow angle going north. Measured against the live feed, detections stop at roughly 55.5°N — the part of Alberta above that line is outside usable viewing geometry, not quiet.

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

SOURCE / TRACEABLE

NOAA GOES East/West GLM

Lightning Tracker requests only this selected source for the regional viewport, keeping source attribution explicit.

Read official source documentation →
REGIONAL READ

Lightning Across Alberta by Region

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

The foothills and the Calgary-to-Red Deer corridor

Air forced up the eastern slopes of the Rockies makes this one of the most convectively active corridors in the country. Storms typically form over the foothills in the afternoon and move east onto the plains, and this corridor is well known for severe hail.

Central Alberta and the Edmonton region

Storms usually arrive already organised, having formed to the west or southwest earlier in the day, so activity often reaches the city later in the afternoon and evening.

The southern prairie and Cypress Hills

Open, dry country where storm bases run high and outflow travels a long way ahead of the parent cell. Lightning can be detected well away from any rain you can see.

FIELD NOTES

Alberta Lightning Map FAQ

Is this Alberta lightning map live?

The map requests recent flashes from NOAA GOES East/West GLM. It refreshes while open, but network, satellite processing, and public-feed delays can occur.

What does the Alberta lightning map show?

It plots recent satellite-detected lightning flashes inside the Alberta 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 Environment and Climate Change Canada watches and 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.

Is there lightning in Alberta right now?

Open the live map above. It plots lightning flashes detected over Alberta by the NOAA GOES East and West Geostationary Lightning Mapper, refreshed while the page is open. An empty map means no recent detections in the feed, not proof that no storm is developing.

Does this replace an Environment and Climate Change Canada warning?

No. Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the official severe thunderstorm watches and warnings for Alberta, and that is the source to follow for risk and safety guidance. This map shows where flashes have already been detected, which is a different question from what is forecast.

Which parts of Alberta does this map cover?

The viewport is set to the whole province, so Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray and the areas between and beyond them are all inside it. Zooming in does not change the source: every zoom level requests the same NOAA GOES GLM feed.

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