National comparison · NOAA Storm Events Database

States with the most lightning events

Florida has recorded the most lightning events of any state, with 457 records across the NOAA Storm Events Database. This ranking covers all 54 states and territories with at least one matching event.

Compiled by PlainHazard, Independent hazard-data publisher · August 25, 2026

Florida
Most lightning events: 457
Florida events: 3,407
Records nationwide

Florida has the most lightning events of any state (457, 13% of the 3,407 records in this ranking)

PlainHazard ranks 54 states and territories using NOAA lightning-event records. Florida leads the catalog, while the top three states together account for 27% of records. Lightning-event counts are historical NOAA records, not a lightning-strike-density measure, a forecast, or a personal-safety rating.

457 Florida records
13% held by Florida
27% held by the top 3

How concentrated are the events

Florida accounts for 13% of the 3,407 lightning records in this ranking. The top three states - Florida, Texas, Georgia - account for 27%.

13%
of records in Florida: 27%
of records in the top 3: 54
states & territories covered

Lightning-event counts are historical NOAA records, not a lightning-strike-density measure, a forecast, or a personal-safety rating.

What this ranking measures

This page sums NOAA lightning-event records by state and ranks the highest totals first. It is a count of past recorded events, not a forecast and not a normalized per-capita, land-area, or personal-risk measure. Lightning-event counts are historical NOAA records, not a lightning-strike-density measure, a forecast, or a personal-safety rating.

Top 12 states by lightning events

Each row links to the state profile; this is a crawlable ranking, not an image-only chart.

1

Florida 457 lightning events
2

Texas 294 lightning events
3

Georgia 185 lightning events
4

South Carolina 149 lightning events
5

Virginia 146 lightning events
6

New York 136 lightning events
7

Massachusetts 134 lightning events
8

Tennessee 129 lightning events
9

North Carolina 128 lightning events
10

California 111 lightning events
11

Mississippi 108 lightning events
12

Alabama 100 lightning events

Source NOAA Storm Events Database · 2026-08-25

The bar to make this top-12 list

Distribution of lightning event counts across ranked states

100 Top 22% higher than 78% of 54 states

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source NOAA Storm Events Database · 2026-08-25

Full lightning-events-by-state ranking

States with the most recorded events rank first. The last column shows fatalities recorded in the same NOAA event rows.

#	State	Recorded Events	Fatalities
1	FloridaFL	457	57
2	TexasTX	294	25
3	GeorgiaGA	185	8
4	South CarolinaSC	149	3
5	VirginiaVA	146	6
6	New YorkNY	136	7
7	MassachusettsMA	134	0
8	TennesseeTN	129	8
9	North CarolinaNC	128	13
10	CaliforniaCA	111	4
11	MississippiMS	108	4
12	AlabamaAL	100	15
13	PennsylvaniaPA	89	7
14	ArizonaAZ	81	4
15	New JerseyNJ	79	5
16	WisconsinWI	74	3
17	IowaIA	73	2
18	KentuckyKY	73	4
19	MissouriMO	72	8
20	IllinoisIL	71	4
21	LouisianaLA	66	7
22	MinnesotaMN	64	0
23	IndianaIN	53	2
24	MarylandMD	47	2
25	ConnecticutCT	44	0
26	ArkansasAR	40	3
27	Puerto RicoPR	39	4
28	ColoradoCO	33	8
29	MichiganMI	28	2
30	DelawareDE	27	0
31	NevadaNV	23	0
32	OklahomaOK	23	3
33	West VirginiaWV	22	1
34	KansasKS	21	1
35	IdahoID	20	0
36	OhioOH	20	6
37	South DakotaSD	20	1
38	Rhode IslandRI	18	0
39	New MexicoNM	14	4
40	NebraskaNE	13	1
41	VermontVT	11	0
42	UtahUT	10	3
43	WashingtonWA	10	0
44	MontanaMT	9	1
45	HawaiiHI	7	0
46	MaineME	6	0
47	New HampshireNH	6	0
48	WyomingWY	5	1
49	American SamoaAS	4	0
50	North DakotaND	4	1
51	OregonOR	4	0
52	AlaskaAK	3	0
53	District of ColumbiaDC	3	3
54	GuamGU	1	0

What to do with this ranking

Florida accounts for 13% of the 3,407 records in this ranking; the top three states hold 27%.

Open Florida's state profile for county-level context. Florida profile
Explore the national hazard pages for year and geography tables behind the rankings. Hazard records
Read how NOAA storm-event counts differ from federal disaster-declaration records before citing either. Disaster-data guide

Lightning-event counts are historical NOAA records, not a lightning-strike-density measure, a forecast, or a personal-safety rating.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database NOAA lightning-event records Recorded events depend on NOAA monitoring and reporting coverage, which has expanded over time; earlier decades can undercount relative to recent years.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which US state has the most lightning events?

Florida has the most NOAA-recorded lightning events of any state, with 457 records - 13% of the 3,407 records in this ranking.

Are lightning events concentrated in a few states?

Yes. The top three states - Florida, Texas, Georgia - account for 27% of all records in this ranking. Lightning-event counts are historical NOAA records, not a lightning-strike-density measure, a forecast, or a personal-safety rating.

Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. This ranking sums NOAA lightning-event records by state. It labels the aggregation rather than presenting it as a forecast or a personal-risk measure. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.