Historical Strikes (REST)

Retrieve lightning strikes over a defined time range (maximum 24 hours).

Endpoint

GET `https://api.lightning.metservice.com/strikes`

Query Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
bbox	string	The bounding box for the search area: minLon,minLat,maxLon,maxLat.
startAt	string	The start time in ISO 8601 format (UTC).
endAt	string	The end time in ISO 8601 format (UTC).
providers	string	Comma-separated list of data providers to include.

Supported Providers

• transpower (MetService NZ lightning network): High-precision lightning data for the New Zealand region.
• toa (AccuWeather global detection network): Global lightning detection network providing wide-area coverage.

Example Request

curl --request GET \
  --url '`https://api.lightning.metservice.com/strikes?bbox=155,-55,190,-25&startAt=2025-12-01T01:21:49Z&endAt=2025-12-01T04:21:49Z&providers=transpower'` \
  --header 'accept: application/json' \
  --header 'x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY'

info

HTTP requests support authentication via x-api-key:

GET /strikes
x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY

or Authorization header:

GET /strikes
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SHORT_LIVED_TOKEN

Example Response

{
  "message": "Recent Strikes successfully retrieved.",
  "meta": {
    "total": 3223
  },
  "total": 3223,
  "response": [
    {
      "id": "9b696944-7b08-43b0-b828-be9c4e4cdb00",
      "strikeType": "GROUND",
      "latitude": -16.0989034,
      "longitude": 112.7473607,
      "unixEpochSeconds": 1768439649,
      "kA": -56.7
    }
    ...
  ]
}