Lightning is one of nature’s most beautiful and dangerous weather phenomena. According to NOAA, the U.S. averages about 20 deaths yearly, with hundreds more injured. Personal lightning detectors are valuable because they warn of one of nature’s most violent and potentially deadly weather events during severe storms.
Lightning detectors protect not only you but also the electronic devices in your home. Our everyday electronics are susceptible to damage from static discharges, and even an indirect lightning strike to your home can fry the electronic components inside. We’ve searched high and low for the best lightning detectors and have come up with a few options.
Read more: 15 Lightning Safety Tips to Keep You Safe in a Storm
Our Top Picks
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Best Personal Lightning Detectors
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Also Consider
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What is lightning, and why does it happen?
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge. This typically occurs when ice or water particles in the atmosphere collide, transferring electrical charges and leading to lightning strikes between these two points. But what causes the thunder you hear with a lightning strike? It’s exploding air! The lightning bolt heats the air in its path, which causes superheated air to expand and explode. That explosion creates the sound of thunder, and the light from it is the bolt.
The same type of charge occurs when you rub your feet on the carpet and then touch something like a metal door handle: it creates an electrostatic discharge, which can cause a spark to jump between your hand and the metal. The same build-up happens in our atmosphere during thunderstorms; lightning strikes through the sky when the build-up gets too intense.
Lightning occurs when a charge is conducted between the ground and an object, called cloud-to-ground lightning. The charge travels from the ground upwards. Lightning strikes can cause fires if they strike an object, but a lightning strike on water will spread over the surface. This is why you should move away from large bodies of water during thunderstorms. The lightning strike doesn’t have to be direct for you to get hit! Intra-cloud lightning strikes, more commonly called cloud-to-cloud lightning, occur between two clouds.
There are many different types of lightning, including heat lightning. Heat lightning is named this because it’s often seen during summer nights from thunderstorms too far away to hear the thunder itself.
You won’t have to worry about being caught off guard with a lightning detector. They work even when you can’t see the lightning yet because the lightning detector detects electromagnetic interference caused by a lightning strike, even when the lightning bolt is too far away to be visible.
10 Lightning Safety Tips
- “If thunder roars, go indoors.”
- Stay away from doors, windows, outside walls, and anything metal.
- Avoid contact with water.
- Stay off any electrical device powered by a wall plug.
- Don’t go outside until 30 minutes after lightning was last seen.
- If you’re swimming, get to land immediately.
- Do not camp or sleep in tents during lightning storms.
- Avoid open fields and high ground (such as hills).
- Never shelter under a lone tree.
- And of course, consider lightning detectors to get advanced notice!
How do lightning detectors work?
Lightning detectors warn of approaching thunderstorms, often well before you hear any thunder. These lightning detectors use the same concept. A sensor inside “listens” for lightning’s electromagnetic pulses (EMPs). You might have listened to an EMP yourself while listening to AM radio, and the static crash you hear during a thunderstorm is the interference from the EMP.
The intensity of these pulses is used to offer a rough estimate of your distance from a detected strike. However, don’t wait until strikes approach to act: lightning can strike as far as 10 miles from a thunderstorm! That’s why a lightning detector can save your life.
Should I buy one?
Lightning detectors are a smart buy for anyone who spends considerable time outdoors during the spring and summer. It’s even more critical for those who might not have immediate access to adequate shelter, such as golfers, runners, cyclists, and other outdoor enthusiasts.
Outdoor businesses should also consider a lightning detector. Some higher-end options offer the capability to detect nearby lightning and track it, too, allowing you to better judge whether nearby lightning poses a threat. A lightning detector is perfect for outdoor businesses like restaurants, bars, and pools, to name a few.
What to Consider When Buying a Personal Lightning Detector
Our picks are only suggestions, and we urge you to shop around. If you find one that is not on our list, using our tips below will help you decide whether it’s a good buy.
Directional information
Any lightning detector should notify you of a nearby lightning strike and how close it is. Nearly every lightning detector we’ve seen can do this, but some DIY kits may not.
Distance
A good lightning detector uses the EMP signal strength to estimate distance. We’ve seen accuracy in our tests within one or two miles of actual strike reports from professional networks in the higher-end models. Cheaper models typically have trouble with this as they’re more prone to interference.
Range
The Boltek professional lightning detector we recommended can detect lightning up to 250 miles away. Consumer-grade detectors’ sensor range is limited to about 25 miles, although a higher-end personal lightning detector can often detect strikes beyond that.
How we test
Brands we trust and have personal experience with always get top priority in our best-of lists. Solid customer support is also important, and these lightning detector manufacturers earn good reviews for both.
We also look at value. Weather gadgets can get quite expensive (we speak from personal experience), and lightning detectors generally aren’t cheap. While the AcuRite 02020 is pretty inexpensive, you’ll typically need to spend $100 or more for a reliable and accurate detector.
While we only give top billing in our lists to products we can physically test, that’s not always possible. In that case, we turn to customer reviews. Only reviews from actual owners are considered to ensure we get a clear picture. Are there patterns in their praises? Patterns in the complaints? Does the device detect lightning strikes accurately? Those are important to point out to you.
While we’ve seen dozens of lightning detectors, these stand out for their storm-tracking capabilities. They are all perfect for consumer use, but if you’re looking for lightning detection for your business, we’d recommend Boltek’s product line.
Most consumer models are handheld lightning detectors, so you can take them anywhere. Boltek’s pro-grade detectors are expensive — the cheapest sets you back $1,400 — but you get detection out to 250 miles, including the capability to determine where the strike occurred, which is needed to assess storm direction. The below only provides a distance, typically around 25 miles, which might not be sufficient for commercial applications.
Like other weather gadgets, the best lightning detectors are pretty expensive. However, if you want an accurate device that can detect lightning without false positives due to interference, you will have to pay more. However, an affordable lightning detector is better than nothing. Relying on the weather forecast isn’t always the best idea.