Lightning activity level

This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources.
Find sources: "Lightning activity level" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2024)

Lightning activity level (LAL) is a scale that describes degrees and types of lightning activity. Values are labeled 1–6.^[1]

Lightning Activity Levels
Level	Description
1	No thunderstorms
2	Isolated thunderstorms. Lightning is very infrequent, 1–5 cloud-to-ground strikes in a five-minute period.
3	Widely scattered thunderstorms. Lightning is infrequent, 6–10 cloud-to-ground strikes in a five-minute period.
4	Scattered thunderstorms. Lightning is frequent, 11–15 cloud-to-ground strikes in a 5-minute period.
5	Numerous thunderstorms. Lightning is frequent and intense, greater than 15 cloud-to-ground strikes in a five-minute period.
6	Dry lightning (same as LAL 3 but without rain). This type of lightning has the potential for starting fires, and is normally highlighted in fire weather forecasts with a red flag warning.

References

v t e Meteorological data and variables
General	Adiabatic processes Advection Buoyancy Lapse rate Lightning Surface solar radiation Surface weather analysis Visibility Vorticity Wind Wind shear
Condensation	Cloud Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) Fog Convective condensation level (CCL) Lifting condensation level (LCL) Precipitable water Precipitation Water vapor
Convection	Convective available potential energy (CAPE) Convective inhibition (CIN) Convective instability Convective momentum transport Conditional symmetric instability Convective temperature (T_c) Equilibrium level (EL) Free convective layer (FCL) Helicity K Index Level of free convection (LFC) Lifted index (LI) Maximum parcel level (MPL) Bulk Richardson number (BRN) Significant tornado parameter (STP)
Temperature	Dew point (T_d) Dew point depression Dry-bulb temperature Equivalent temperature (T_e) Forest fire weather index Haines Index Heat index Humidex Humidity Relative humidity (RH) Mixing ratio Potential temperature (θ) Equivalent potential temperature (θ_e) Sea surface temperature (SST) Temperature anomaly Thermodynamic temperature Vapor pressure Virtual temperature Wet-bulb temperature Wet-bulb globe temperature Wet-bulb potential temperature Wind chill
Pressure	Atmospheric pressure Baroclinity Barotropicity Pressure gradient Pressure-gradient force (PGF)
Velocity	Maximum potential intensity