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Lightning

Every flash of lightning seen by Europe's MTG satellite over and around Cyprus, turned into thunder days, storm replays and maps.

Static snapshot: 1 Oct 2024 to 13 Oct 2026 (726 days). Updated by hand, not live.

A look back at observed flashes, not a forecast or a warning. Current official warnings from the Department of Meteorology: Kairika home page · dom.org.cy

Thunder days
160
of 726 days covered
Flashes near the island
221,439
within 25 km; 80,725 over land
Busiest day
29 Aug 2026
9,447 flashes over land
Latest thunder day
12 Oct 2026
661 flashes over land

Thunder days by month

A thunder day has at least 10 flashes over the island itself (land plus a 500 m margin around the coast). Rows are rain years (1 October to 30 September), newest first. Each month shows that season's thunder days, with the season before as a pale bar behind it.

2026/27
so far
7
vs 101
7
OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSept
2025/26
101
vs 52
3
10
14
9
8
12
11
11
6
5
6
6
OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSept
2024/25
52
1
6
13
2
8
3
6
7
2
3
0
1
OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSept
  • This row's season
  • Season before (ghost)
  • Dashed outline: a month the data covers only partly.

Contains modified EUMETSAT Meteosat data 2026

The biggest storm days

Pick a day and watch it flash by flash. Ranked by flashes over the island itself.

Within 25 km
17,648
Over land
9,447
Wider area
109,252
Busiest hour
11:00
First to last flash
06:14–17:25
Loading flashes…
Read the story of this day →

When it flashes

Flashes within 25 km of the island by hour of the day (local time), for each month in the snapshot.

0003060912151821
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Hour of day

Contains modified EUMETSAT Meteosat data 2026

Where it flashes

All flashes in the snapshot on a 5 km grid; brighter squares mean more flashes.

Map of Cyprus showing where lightning flashes were detected over the snapshot period

Contains modified EUMETSAT Meteosat data 2026

Where thunderstorms are most common nearby, and where they are least

Flashes detected per km² within 10 km of each spot over the 2025/26 rain year, and the number of days with 5 or more flashes that close. Flashes include lightning inside clouds, and positions are good to about 3–5 km, so this shows where thunderstorms are most frequent, not the odds of a strike. One season is a short record.

Most flashes

  1. East Mesaoria plain10.3 per km² · 25 days
  2. Nicosia, south-east side9.0 per km² · 29 days
  3. Kantara (Karpas base)7.8 per km² · 24 days
  4. Rizokarpaso (Karpas)7.6 per km² · 28 days
  5. Kyrenia7.2 per km² · 17 days

Fewest flashes

  1. Limassol1.3 per km² · 16 days
  2. Paphos2.5 per km² · 19 days
  3. Polis Chrysochous3.5 per km² · 23 days
  4. Paralimni & Protaras4.0 per km² · 18 days
  5. Larnaca4.2 per km² · 13 days

Contains modified EUMETSAT Meteosat data 2026

About this data

Flashes are optical detections by EUMETSAT's Meteosat Third Generation Lightning Imager (Level-2 product, a file every 10 minutes). Contains modified EUMETSAT Meteosat data 2026.

“Over land” means within 500 m of the island's coastline, “within 25 km” is measured from the coastline, and the wider area is 33–37°N, 30.5–36.5°E. The coastline is simplified, so counts near the shore are approximate.

Days are Cyprus local days. A day appears only when the satellite files covering all of it were downloaded in full.

Days with missing satellite products: 5 May 2026, 8 Aug 2026, 12 Aug 2026, 17 Sept 2026, 18 Sept 2026, 23 Sept 2026 … (+48). Their counts are lower bounds.

Flashes are not ground strikes, and positions carry some uncertainty.

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