Knowing when a thunderstorm is heading your way is important information for a cruising sailor. So I was very surprised to get just one hit when I searched for "Lightning detectors", and this
was a very short thread from 2006-2013. The gist of the thread is that a
cheap AM
radio might be a good alternative to a $500 detector. More on that later.
On the other hand, a
Google search of "Marine
lightning detector" produces as many products as there were comments in the above thread! And some of the claims are impressive, including, in one case, "the unique ability to warn of the risk of overhead
lightning, even before the lightning has started". I have no idea how well any of these perform, have no
commercial interest in any device on the market, and any of my comments above should not be taken as either critical or supportive of any devices or techniques.
Given the lack of data, maybe we can contribute to the field of knowledge, which seems pretty sparse right now. So, if you have
first-hand experience in using a lightning detector (one of the expensive models, not an AM radio) during thunderstorms, please submit a post documenting your experience. If not, join us for the ride.