That is the very heart of the problem here.
As far as we can tell from previous discussions, the sim isn’t using METARs or TAFs for lightning or any clouds it draws. That’s coming entirely from Meteoblue’s numerical forecast model. And it seems that when the forecast model thinks the conditions support the development of possible thunderstorms, the lightning switch gets turned on in the simulator (regardless if there actually are storms present IRL or in the forecast model). Meanwhile, the clouds are coming from a completely different part of the numerical forecast model that probably isn’t talking to the lightning part of the model at all. So the sim draws whatever cloud layers it thinks are appropriate, and if the lightning switch is turned on, those clouds start shooting bolts.
Additional logic needs to be added to the sim to either cull the lightning to areas that have cumulonimbus of X thousands of feet tall, and/or when the lightning switch is turned on, the sim needs to generate some corresponding cumulonimbus of sufficient height. Because it seems that lightning is coming out of the wrong cloud types, and the afternoon pop-up Cbs that frequent places like Florida are just missing entirely.
A couple friendly suggestions for the next time you post here:
- Stop making really bad comparisons. We’re not paying for real flight training and time in an aircraft. We’re paying for a video game with advertised features that don’t work. It would be like if I bought an airplane operating handbook listed in new condition, but some of the pages were missing. Then when I went back to complain, the seller told me I should be thankful because the actual plane costs way more than that handbook.
- Stop dismissing other people just because the issue isn’t personally important to you. IRL if you can hear thunder, the majority of pilots are grounded. There’s dangerous wind shear, severe turbulence, or IMC in the immediate area. So you can see how this issue would screw up a vast amount of flights for anyone trying to use this sim with any semblance of realism, not to mention how it also ruins the fun when you just want to go for a flight and have to deal with wacky, unrealistic weather.