🗺️ Map Interaction & Time History

Use the **Start Time** and **End Time** inputs to filter lightning strikes by date and time, then click **Apply Filter**.

The **history slider** below the map controls the data timestamp. The right side is the current time (**Now**), and the left side goes back up to the **Max History** hours (default: 24 hours). Data displayed corresponds to the slider's current position.

Click **Play** to animate the history of strikes from oldest to newest. Adjust the playback speed using the slider or the **Minutes per Second** input (e.g., 1 = 1 minute of strikes per second). Click **Stop** to pause the animation.

🌐 Layer Management & Visualization

Use the checkboxes to toggle visualization layers:

• **UK Lightning Layer:** Displays individual strike markers in the UK.
• **Lightning Heatmap:** Shows a 2D density map of strikes. Adjust its appearance using the **Heatmap Blur** slider.
• **Lightning Counter:** Displays the total count of strikes within a cluster or area.
• **Sound:** Enable this to play a thunder sound for each new strike that occurs within the current map view.

Use the dropdowns to overlay real-time or modeled weather data. Adjust visibility using the respective **Opacity** slider (if available). Changing a layer selection will automatically refresh the map to plot the new layer at the current history time.

Weather Overlays:

• **Map Style:** Change the base map's appearance (e.g., Satellite, Dark, Light).
• **Radar and Weather Layer:** Shows precipitation (rain, snow, type) intensity or reflectivity. This includes UK high-resolution and global products.
• **Satellite Layer:** Displays cloud or atmospheric imagery (e.g., Visible, Infrared, Water Vapor).
• **Isobar Layer (Pressure):** Overlays lines of equal mean sea level pressure (isobars). Used to locate high and low pressure centers.
• **Wind Direction Layer:** Overlays wind direction data.
• **Tropical Storms Layer:** Displays active tropical storm tracks and forecasts.
• **Rotation Layer (US Only):** Shows rotational signatures like storm rotation tracks or echo tops.
• **Surface Front Layer:** Overlays boundaries between different air masses (Cold, Warm, Stationary, Occluded fronts).
• **Global Lightning Layer:** Displays real-time lightning strikes on a global scale.
• **Observation Layer:** Provides various surface observational data such as Temperature, Wind Speed, Snow Depth, and Sea Surface Temperature.
• **Global Warning Layer:** Displays zones with active weather bulletins or warnings.
• **Global Nowcast Layer:** Shows immediate short-term predictions for storms.

⚡ Nowcasting & Prediction

Enable **Nowcast** to display predicted lightning movement based on recent strike clusters. Nowcast shows circles at cluster centers and cones indicating the predicted direction of movement.

Prediction confidence is indicated by color: **Purple** (very high) and **Red** (high). This feature updates dynamically whenever you apply filters or change the time slider position.

🛠️ Expert Mode & Custom Layers

Enable **Expert Mode** to access advanced customization options:

• **Custom Layers (KML/PNG):** Upload a KML file to overlay risk zones or a PNG file for custom imagery (e.g., model outputs).
• **Layer Settings:** Adjust settings like **PNG Opacity** or modify layer z-indices to customize the display order relative to the lightning and weather layers.
• **KML Formatting:** For KML files, ensure polygon names match predefined risk levels ('Low risk', 'Slight risk', 'Enhanced risk', 'Moderate risk', 'High risk') to ensure correct color styling.
• **PNG Bounds:** For PNG files, the filename should include the region name (e.g., 'England', 'Wales') to help the system automatically set the image boundaries on the map.
• **Export:** Click **Export Strikes As PNG** to save the current map view and lightning strikes as an image file. You can enter specific coordinates or drag an area on the map to define the export region.