The use of lightning data and Meteosat infrared imagery for the nowcasting of lightning activity

•A lightning activity operational nowcasting tool for Greece is developed.•MSG IR imagery and ZEUS lightning detection network data are the sole inputs.•The tool performs efficiently for the summer period despite occasional overestimations.

The development and efficiency assessment of a lightning activity nowcasting tool is presented. The tool employs MSG IR imagery and real-time lightning data provided by ZEUS network to nowcast the manifestation of lightning activity over the Greek mainland for a time span of 1 h. The efficiency of the tool is assessed for 20 days with widespread lightning activity observed during the warm period of the year through a verification procedure that computes a collection of appropriate statistics for selected areas. The analysis of these statistics shows that the tool estimates successfully almost 80% of the upcoming activity. The false alarm rate is close to 40%, while a small overestimation is evident. Since the adverse effects of a case of missed activity are much more than that of a false alarm, the tool is considered successful and fit for operational use.