PlainHazard

Lightning in the United States, by state

The national record since 1996 · Lightning

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 18,220 lightning records in the United States from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 563 a year since 2000. Florida records the most (1,777), New Jersey the most per square mile. The deadliest storm in NOAA's record since 1996 is the August 23, 2002 lightning in Missouri: 4 deaths.

What is a lightning? How the National Weather Service files it

A sudden electrical discharge from a thunderstorm, resulting in a fatality, injury, and/or damage. Fatalities and injuries directly related to lightning strikes will be included in Storm Data.
National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605, Storm Data Preparation (July 26, 2021), Appendix A, entry 29

Source: National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605. Read the instruction (PDF).

Lightning, 1996 to 2026

Records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $10 million
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • $10 billion or more, or 1,000 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
18,2201996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
563average
Deaths
1,011recorded
Damage, 2025 dollars
$1.6BStorm Events, as filed

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Which states have the most lightning records?

By count Florida (1,777), Georgia (1,315), Texas (1,001) lead. Per 10,000 square miles New Jersey (859), Delaware (744), Massachusetts (642) lead; large states collect more records by covering more ground.

By count since 1996

  1. Florida 1,777
  2. Georgia 1,315
  3. Texas 1,001
  4. North Carolina 813
  5. Alabama 716
  6. Wisconsin 662
  7. New Jersey 632
  8. New York 582
  9. Pennsylvania 554
  10. Virginia 536
  11. South Carolina 516
  12. Massachusetts 501
  13. Tennessee 489
  14. Colorado 475
  15. Illinois 447

Per 10,000 square miles

  1. New Jersey 859
  2. Delaware 744
  3. Massachusetts 642
  4. Rhode Island 571
  5. Connecticut 353
  6. Florida 331
  7. Maryland 322
  8. New Hampshire 232
  9. Georgia 228
  10. Puerto Rico 175
  11. South Carolina 172
  12. North Carolina 167
  13. Alabama 141
  14. Virginia 136
  15. Pennsylvania 124

Source: Land area: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles are not ranked per square mile.

Alabama: 141 per 10,000 sq miAlaska: 0.1 per 10,000 sq miArizona: 22 per 10,000 sq miArkansas: 74 per 10,000 sq miCalifornia: 23 per 10,000 sq miColorado: 46 per 10,000 sq miConnecticut: 353 per 10,000 sq miDelaware: 744 per 10,000 sq miFlorida: 331 per 10,000 sq miGeorgia: 228 per 10,000 sq miHawaii: 56 per 10,000 sq miIdaho: 9.2 per 10,000 sq miIllinois: 81 per 10,000 sq miIndiana: 110 per 10,000 sq miIowa: 66 per 10,000 sq miKansas: 42 per 10,000 sq miKentucky: 61 per 10,000 sq miLouisiana: 101 per 10,000 sq miMaine: 70 per 10,000 sq miMaryland: 322 per 10,000 sq miMassachusetts: 642 per 10,000 sq miMichigan: 58 per 10,000 sq miMinnesota: 36 per 10,000 sq miMississippi: 84 per 10,000 sq miMissouri: 41 per 10,000 sq miMontana: 3.5 per 10,000 sq miNebraska: 27 per 10,000 sq miNevada: 7.4 per 10,000 sq miNew Hampshire: 232 per 10,000 sq miNew Jersey: 859 per 10,000 sq miNew Mexico: 5.8 per 10,000 sq miNew York: 124 per 10,000 sq miNorth Carolina: 167 per 10,000 sq miNorth Dakota: 16 per 10,000 sq miOhio: 59 per 10,000 sq miOklahoma: 55 per 10,000 sq miOregon: 13 per 10,000 sq miPennsylvania: 124 per 10,000 sq miRhode Island: 571 per 10,000 sq miSouth Carolina: 172 per 10,000 sq miSouth Dakota: 17 per 10,000 sq miTennessee: 119 per 10,000 sq miTexas: 38 per 10,000 sq miUtah: 9.1 per 10,000 sq miVermont: 102 per 10,000 sq miVirginia: 136 per 10,000 sq miWashington: 16 per 10,000 sq miWest Virginia: 40 per 10,000 sq miWisconsin: 122 per 10,000 sq miWyoming: 5.6 per 10,000 sq mi
  • 0.1-17
  • 17-55
  • 55-101
  • 101-172
  • 172+
Lightning per 10,000 square miles by state since 1996. Each class holds about a fifth of the states; Alaska and Hawaii are drawn as insets, not to scale.

Every state

Lightning risk by state: FEMA's model

The record above counts what happened. FEMA's National Risk Index estimates what each state can expect to lose to lightning in an average year, from history, exposure and vulnerability: Florida carries the largest expected annual loss ($162M), then Texas and Colorado.

  1. Florida $162M
  2. Texas $128M
  3. Colorado $85M
  4. Georgia $72M
  5. North Carolina $59M
  6. Pennsylvania $55M
  7. Alabama $51M
  8. Louisiana $49M
  9. Ohio $48M
  10. Tennessee $44M
  11. Puerto Rico $44M
  12. Missouri $43M
  13. New York $43M
  14. Virginia $41M
  15. Utah $39M

Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), county expected annual loss summed by state; a model, not a count. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

When is the lightning season?

Nationally, 47% of its lightning records since 1996 fell in June and July. The busiest month is July.

The values, month by month

Jan 193 · Feb 250 · Mar 512 · Apr 1,066 · May 2,146 · Jun 3,778 · Jul 4,728 · Aug 3,689 · Sep 1,193 · Oct 403 · Nov 145 · Dec 117 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The deadliest lightning records on record

The 10 storms with the most deaths since 1996, by state
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2002-08-23 LightningWillard, Greene County, MO Lightning struck four individuals who got caught in an open field during a thunderstorm, and fled under a tree for shelter. 4 0 –
2004-06-27 LightningSugar Hill, Gwinnett County, GA One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Several Atlanta news media television stations, along with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that three individuals were killed and six were injured at Buford Dam State Park at the south end of Lake Lanier when lightning strikes hit one or more trees under which the individuals were seeking refuge during a ... 3 10 $117K
2017-07-15 LightningChesapeake (city), VA Lightning strike caused a deadly fire at the Chesapeake Senior Living Complex. The fire killed three people and injured six others. There were 68 units that were damaged beyond repair. 3 6 $1.2M
2002-06-26 LightningHamilton, Marion County, AL Lightning was believed to be responsible for a fire in a mobile home in the Shiloh community between Hamilton and Hackleburg of SR 187. Three children were killed and two adults and two other children were injured in the fire. The State Fire Marshall said that preliminary investigation indicated the fire started in ... 3 4 $66K
2007-08-22 LightningDowntown Madison, Dane County, WI Lightning struck a power-pole, causing the attached power-line to fall onto a water-covered ground around a bus stop. As a result, three people were electrocuted - two of them while standing in the water waiting for a bus, and another person who got off of the bus. All three fatalities were indirectly-related to ... 3 2 $14K
2007-12-20 LightningColfax, Grant Parish, LA Three family members died in a house explosion as a result of lightning striking near the home. It was determined that the explosion was caused by a gas leak and the lightning strike. The blast shattered windows of surrounding homes as well. Debris from the explosion was found within a 200-foot radius of the home tht ... 3 2 $213K
2003-07-29 LightningMatthews, Mecklenburg County, NC Three people were killed and another injured when lightning struck a large oak tree, which then fell on and crushed the vehicle they were sitting in. Two other vehicles were damaged by the fallen tree. 3 1 $48K
2024-05-09 LightningLawrenceburg Airport, Lawrence County, TN A lightning strike was likely to blame for a house fire along Morgan Road in Lawrenceburg. Unfortunately, the house became engulfed in flames which led to the death of three individuals, including one pregnant woman. 3 0 $470K
2022-08-04 LightningLincoln Memorial, District of Columbia, DC Three people were killed and another suffered life-threatening injuries when they were struck by lightning in Lafayette Park across the street from The White House. A couple (76-year-old male, 75-year-old female) and an unrelated (29-year-old male) succumbed to their injuries from the lightning strike the next day. 3 0 –
2005-06-29 LightningChillicothe, Ross County, OH One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. An inmate in the yard at the Chillicothe Correctional Institute was struck and killed by lightning. Five others were injured by the lightning strike. 2 7 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed, summed over each storm in each state (one episode, or a named storm filed by several offices); names from FEMA declaration titles.

The costliest lightning records since 1993

The 8 most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2019-05-23 LightningHastings, Adams County, NE 0 2 $22M
2007-07-21 LightningPalm Beach County, FL 0 0 $21M
2006-08-24 LightningKenosha County, WI One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 1 $21M
2002-03-12 LightningBarksdale Afb, Bossier Parish, LA 0 0 $16M
2007-10-06 LightningSchofield, Marathon County, WI 0 0 $12M
2008-08-23 LightningSchofield, Marathon County, WI 0 0 $11M
1999-05-23 LightningMaryville, Blount County, TN 0 0 $11M
2012-08-15 LightningHaskell, Passaic County, NJ 0 0 $10M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

What the record files under lightning

NOAA event types in this group
Event typeRecordsYearsKilledDamage
Lightning18,2201996-20261,011$1.6B

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, event types as defined in NWS Instruction 10-1605.

Next