Total Lightning Climatology in the Caribbean Region

A preliminary "climatology" of total lightning over Puerto Rico has been developed using Earth Networks Total Lightning sensor data spanning 2012-2017, including average temporal rates, spatial densities and other statistical descriptors. Not only is this important for both forecasting and meteorological reasons but also for impacts to the power grid, outdoor sports, aviation, and marine concerns. The results of this effort will help in understanding the variability of lightning measured from optical sensors in space such as the GOES Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM).