Pokemon Go: How does weather affect which characters you can collect?

July 14,2016; 7:35AM,EDT

 

Around the world, Pokemon trainers are braving the elements to capture creatures as the game continues to surge in popularity.
Pokemon Go launched on July 5 in the United States and has since been released in several other countries. The app has been downloaded more than 15 million times from the Apple App Store and Google Play, according to SensorTower, an app research firm.
App users, or trainers, search for Pokemon and try to build up an army of Pokemon by collecting as many characters as possible.
While rain and storms may initially inhibit players from wandering outside to catch a Pokemon, several Reddit users discovered that the weather has an influence on what characters appear.
One Reddit user noticed that a higher number of water Pokemon appeared when it was raining in Melbourne, Australia.
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When lightning struck, the Electrabuzz character seemed to appear more frequently than on a dry, sunny day.
However, trainers should seek indoor shelter at the first sign of thunder or lightning in order to stay safe. The user did note that Electrabuzz still appeared during just rain, giving users a chance to safely collect the Pokemon.
Stay alert to rapidly changing weather conditions by using MinuteCast®. The minute-by-minute forecast will give trainers an exact time frame to safely get outside to collect Pokemon.
(Photo/Lucas Rickley)