Arizona lightning
Every recorded lightning record since 1996 · 14 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 255 lightning records in Arizona from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 8.3 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the July 23, 2013 lightning in Coconino County: 2 deaths and 1 injury. Arizona ranks 28th of 52 states and territories by count and 40th of 51 per square mile.
Lightning in Arizona, 1996 to 2026
Lightning records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 2551996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 8.3average
- Deaths
- 24114 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $11Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 199917 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are lightning records common in Arizona?
Arizona averages about 8.3 lightning records a year since 2000, 28th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1999 (17). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Arizona records 22 lightning records since 1996, 40th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Arizona have the most lightning records?
Per square mile, Pima County leads Arizona: 66 days with a lightning record since 1996, 7.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Pima County has the most lightning records (78 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the lightning season in Arizona?
71% of its lightning records since 1996 fell in July and August. The busiest month is July (104 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 1 · Feb 4 · Mar 1 · Apr 2 · May 7 · Jun 15 · Jul 104 · Aug 76 · Sep 29 · Oct 13 · Nov 2 · Dec 1 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest lightning records in Arizona?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-07-23 | LightningJacob Lake, Coconino County Lightning struck three people at LeFavre Scenic Overlook along Highway 89 about eight miles north of Jacobs Lake. Two people died and the third person sustained non-life-threatening injuries. | 2 | 1 | – | |
| 1997-05-20 | LightningFt Huachuca, Cochise County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. A woman camping with her two sons in a tent was killed when lightning struck the tent. Her two sons, one inside the tent, the other outside the tent, were not injured. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2015-06-27 | LightningWashington Park, Coconino County A group of hikers that was caught in a thunderstorm took shelter under a stand of Ponderosa pine trees. Initial reports from on-scene deputies indicated that lightning struck one of the pine trees where the group was standing and knocked most of them to the ground. Members of the group attempted to resuscitate a ... | 1 | 7 | – | |
| 2011-08-04 | LightningPhantom Ranch, Coconino County Lightning killed a 64-year-old woman visiting the Grand Canyon National Park. It is unclear if the lightning directly hit the victim. Five additional park visitors, ages 45 to 68, were also injured. The event took place at Mohave Point. | 1 | 5 | – | |
| 1999-07-27 | LightningFountain Hills, Maricopa County One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Lightning struck and killed a motorcyclist and injured another near Bartlett Dam. | 1 | 5 | – | |
| 2009-09-20 | LightningClay Spgs, Navajo County Four motorcyclist stopped on the shoulder of a roadway because of the heavy rain. One of them hid in a near by culvert. While stopped, lightning hit the ground near the three cyclists knocking them on the ground. All three were air lifted to hospitals. The woman had badly burned feet. One man was very disoriented. The ... | 1 | 3 | – | |
| 1998-12-15 | LightningParadise Vly, Maricopa County Lightning struck the plywood roof of a home under construction. A worker was killed when the lightning bolt traveled down a wooden rafter and hit him in the head. Three other workers received minor injuries from this lightning. | 1 | 3 | – | |
| 2000-08-12 | LightningPayson, Gila County Three hikers were hit by lightning 10 miles north of Payson. One died and the other two were injured. | 1 | 2 | – | |
| 2016-07-20 | LightningSunset Crater, Coconino County Three young men were struck by lightning within minutes of reaching the summit of Humphreys Peak (12,633 feet above mean sea level). Two of them men were injured and one died. | 1 | 2 | – | |
| 2010-07-10 | LightningDavis Monthan A, Pima County Two men were injured due to a lightning strike on a golf course. One man suffered life threatening injuries, which he later died from. Another man was about 50 feet away, and received a milder shock from the lightning strike. | 1 | 1 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest lightning records in Arizona
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-09-02 | LightningBapchule, Pinal County | 0 | 0 | $1.5M | |
| 2005-07-31 | LightningPeoria, Maricopa County | 0 | 0 | $756K | |
| 2023-07-31 | LightningBellemont, Coconino County | 0 | 0 | $581K | |
| 2005-08-09 | LightningMesa, Maricopa County | 0 | 0 | $529K | |
| 2014-09-08 | LightningLaveen, Maricopa County | 0 | 0 | $436K | |
| 2008-08-07 | LightningDrexel Hgts, Pima County | 0 | 0 | $288K | |
| 2009-05-18 | LightningSurprise, Maricopa County | 0 | 0 | $275K | |
| 2025-07-02 | LightningAvondale, Maricopa County | 0 | 0 | $100K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are lightning records becoming more frequent in Arizona?
Arizona's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Arizona | United States | Arizona's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 38 | 3,521 | 1.1% |
| 2000s | 76 | 8,052 | 0.9% |
| 2010s | 100 | 5,103 | 2.0% |
| 2020-26 | 41 | 1,544 | 2.7% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent lightning records in Arizona
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-22 | LightningAvondale, Maricopa County | 0 | 0 | $10K | |
| 2025-10-22 | LightningSunset Crater, Coconino County | 0 | 2 | – | |
| 2025-07-16 | LightningTucson, Pima County | 0 | 0 | $2K | |
| 2025-07-15 | LightningSabino, Pima County | 0 | 0 | $3K | |
| 2025-07-15 | LightningEmery Park, Pima County | 0 | 0 | $2K | |
| 2025-07-15 | LightningTuscon Ryan Field Airport, Pima County | 0 | 0 | $2K | |
| 2025-07-15 | LightningEmery Park, Pima County | 0 | 0 | $2K | |
| 2025-07-15 | LightningOld Tuscon, Pima County | 0 | 0 | $1K | |
| 2025-07-15 | LightningOro Vly, Pima County | 0 | 0 | $1K | |
| 2025-07-03 | LightningMarana, Pima County | 0 | 0 | $2K | |
| 2025-07-02 | LightningAvondale, Maricopa County | 0 | 0 | $100K | |
| 2025-06-01 | LightningSonoita, Santa Cruz County | 0 | 0 | $5K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Next
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