A live lightning and thunderstorm tracker for all of Canada. The map shows Environment Canada's lightning density — where flashes have been detected in the last few minutes — with rain and snow radar layers to see the storm cells behind them, plus every city where a thunderstorm is being reported right now. To see lightning storms near me, use the location button or open your city's radar below.
Live lightning & storm map
Lightning density & radar · Environment and Climate Change Canada
⚡ = thunderstorm reported now
Thunderstorms reported right now
0 cities
No thunderstorms are being reported in our monitored cities at the moment. That changes fast in summer — the map above updates every few minutes.
The lightning layer shows flash density from Environment Canada's detection network, updated every ten minutes — the brighter the cell, the more flashes in the last window. Switch to the rain radar to see the convective cores that produce it. When a cell near you lights up, count the seconds between the flash and the thunder and divide by three — that is the distance in kilometres. Under ten seconds means the storm is within three kilometres and you should already be inside. Environment Canada's rule is simple: when thunder roars, go indoors, and wait thirty minutes after the last rumble before going back out. Lightning regularly strikes 15 km from the rain shaft, which is why blue sky overhead is no protection. For official warnings check active weather alerts, and for the storm's track open the national radar or your local radar near me.
Where this data comes from
Lightning density and radar come from Environment and Climate Change Canada (MSC GeoMet): the lightning layer is a 2.5 km grid of detected flashes per 10-minute window, the radar layers are the national composite at 1 km every 6 minutes. Thunderstorm reports and the hourly lightning risk come from the current-conditions and forecast feeds behind every city page on North Weather (WMO codes 95–99, the thunderstorm group). The map shows density, not individual strikes, so use it to decide whether to head indoors rather than to judge where a single bolt landed.