Houston one of world's most active lightning hot spots A&M offers live public map of Houston's many lightning strikes

Thanks to its location on the Gulf Coast, Texas is among the world's hot spots for lightning strikes.

And Houston is the lightning center of Texas, recording about 1,700 strikes in June and July each year, according to research at Texas A&M University.

The next time a thunderstorm hits the Houston-Galveston area, you can consult an A&M website to see how close you are to the lightning.

The website depicts the Lightning Mapping Array, the only system of its kind for a large metropolitan area, said Richard Orville, A&M professor of atmospheric sciences.

Installed at a cost of nearly $400,000, the system makes economic sense in a place like Houston because of its large population and its high volume of lightning, Orville said.

"We have thunderstorms 12 months of the year," he said. "You need two things for lightning to occur - heat and moisture, and Houston has plenty of both."

Recently upgraded with new software and new hardware, the system, originally installed in 2004, is now "extremely reliable," Orville said.

Matt Cullen, left, and Marty Hale, Texas A&M graduate students helped install a sensor in Galveston for the university's Lightning Mapping System. Matt Cullen, left, and Marty Hale, Texas A&M graduate students helped install a sensor in Galveston for the university's Lightning Mapping System. Photo: Texas A&M University Photo: Texas A&M University Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Houston one of world's most active lightning hot spots 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

The system consists of 10 sensors in or near Harris County, one in Galveston and one in Brazos County, northwest of Houston.

The sensors are operated by solar panels and have two antennas, one that receives radiation from lightning and one that sends the information to a computer at A&M.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the system is mainly used for research, but Orville said he's glad it's now reliable enough to share with the public.

"We're a public university," he said. "We're supported by tax dollars. I feel it's our obligation to the community to make these data available. People logging on does not interfere with our program."