Abstract <p>It is necessary to monitor thunderstorm activity and interpret field measurements taking into account regional features to correctly parameterize electrical activity in climate models and high-resolution weather forecast models. In particular, lightning location networks are one of the most important tools used in the analysis of extreme meteorological phenomena with intense electrical activity. Currently, various methods of in situ observations of thunderstorms are widely used: satellite-based optical detection of discharges of discharges and ground-based lightning location. In this paper, the operation of regional lightning location networks and the registration of individual intense thunderstorm events has been analyzed using the example of the observation results of the NNLDN (Nizhny Novgorod Lightning Detection Network) multipoint lightning location network developed at the Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, and recording the electromagnetic radiation of lightning from from both nearby and distant thunderstorms in the ranges of 10–100 kHz. The main focus in the study is the analysis of the results of lightning activity observations by the NNLDN network with a regional coverage of 100–300 km and the WWLLN (World Wide Lightning Location Network) network with global coverage. A qualitative coincidence of the thunderstorm hazard maps for 2022 with a greater number of lightning discharges recorded by the NNLDN network has been presented. The long-term statistics of thunderstorms in the studied region for 2015–2022 has been studied. The main regional features of thunderstorm activity within the region have been identified; in particular, the directions of thunderstorm arrival and the locations of areas with high or low thunderstorm hazard of Nizhny Novgorod region have been determined.</p>