Indiana lightning
Every recorded lightning record since 1996 · 78 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 395 lightning records in Indiana from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 13 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the September 19, 2013 lightning in Lake County: 2 deaths, 1 injury and $95,000 in damage in 2025 dollars across 2 records. Indiana ranks 17th of 52 states and territories by count and 19th of 51 per square mile.
Lightning in Indiana, 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
- 3951996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 13average
- Deaths
- 14104 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $40Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 200541 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 Indiana?
Indiana averages about 13 lightning records a year since 2000, 17th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2005 (41). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Indiana records 110 lightning records since 1996, 19th 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 Indiana have the most lightning records?
Per square mile, Hamilton County leads Indiana: 38 days with a lightning record since 1996, 96.4 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Hamilton County has the most lightning records (53 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 Indiana?
45% of its lightning records since 1996 fell in June and July. The busiest month is July (90 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 3 · Feb 6 · Mar 9 · Apr 22 · May 70 · Jun 89 · Jul 90 · Aug 82 · Sep 14 · Oct 5 · Nov 5 · Dec 0 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest lightning records in Indiana?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-09-19 | LightningGary, Lake County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. Thunderstorms moved into northwest Indiana during the late morning and early afternoon of September 19th producing deadly lightning. Later in the afternoon, a supercell developed producing large hail and damaging winds. | 2 | 1 | $95K | |
| 2009-06-11 | LightningIndianapolis, Marion County A ten year old boy was killed and two others were injured while fishing at a campground at 4141 West Southport Road, Indianapolis, Indiana. This was the first death due to lightning in the state for 2009. | 1 | 2 | – | |
| 2011-06-15 | LightningMayfield, Delaware County A Muncie church fire that left a firefighter dead on June 15 was caused by a lightning strike. Muncie Fire Department officials announced the cause of the fire on Tuesday. Officials say a lightning strike at 10:45 a.m. that morning sparked the fire. Firefighter Scott Davis, 40, died fighting the blaze. Two other ... | 1 | 1 | $197K | |
| 2006-07-18 | LightningLawrence, Marion County Two boys, aged 9 and 11, were struck by lightning while standing under a tree and playing in the rain. The 9-year-old died a short time later at Wishard Hospital. The 11-year-old was injured, but survived. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2010-05-01 | LightningMeadowbrook, Allen County Local television stations reported a 18 year old male was found dead under a tree around 8 am May 1st. Indications were that lightning struck a tree the young man was standing under and traveled into his back. Autopsy revealed he was killed instantly. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1999-04-08 | LightningCarmel, Hamilton County A 32 year old male was struck by an isolated cloud-to-ground lightning bolt and became comatose. He died a week later. The man was struck while standing next to a tree in his yard. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1998-07-22 | LightningMuncie, Delaware County Man fatally struck by lightning while fishing at Prairie Creek Reservoir during pre-dawn hours. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1998-07-07 | LightningVincennes, Knox County Lighning struck and killed a 45 year old male in a parking lot at the Southwest Indiana Regional Youth Village. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1996-05-28 | LightningGreensburg, Decatur County Lightning struck and killed a Greensburg man as he was working outside in his yard. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2020-07-08 | LightningEvansville, Vanderburgh County A construction worker on the roof of a building was struck by lightning. The individual was a 34-year-old male who was on top of a tall building in downtown Evansville. The lightning hit the roof, causing damage about the size of a softball. The individual was near the damage site when he was struck. He received a ... | 1 | 0 | – |
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 Indiana
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-06-22 | LightningHome Place, Hamilton County | 0 | 0 | $4.7M | |
| 2004-07-22 | LightningNew Castle, Henry County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $1.6M | |
| 2008-06-22 | LightningIndian Vlg, St. Joseph County | 0 | 0 | $1.4M | |
| 2006-10-02 | LightningMishawaka, St. Joseph County | 0 | 0 | $1.1M | |
| 1998-07-21 | LightningFremont, Steuben County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $1.0M | |
| 1996-05-21 | LightningCarmel, Hamilton County | 0 | 1 | $941K | |
| 2019-10-06 | LightningWanamaker, Marion County | 0 | 1 | $866K | |
| 2000-05-18 | LightningNew Whiteland, Johnson County | 0 | 0 | $857K |
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 Indiana?
Indiana'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 | Indiana | United States | Indiana's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 61 | 3,521 | 1.7% |
| 2000s | 248 | 8,052 | 3.1% |
| 2010s | 52 | 5,103 | 1.0% |
| 2020-26 | 34 | 1,544 | 2.2% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent lightning records in Indiana
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-17 | LightningGreenwood, Johnson County | 0 | 0 | $150K | |
| 2025-08-16 | LightningTwin Lakes, Marshall County | 0 | 0 | $1K | |
| 2025-05-16 | LightningDunkirk, Cass County | 0 | 0 | $50K | |
| 2025-04-29 | LightningDaleville, Delaware County | 0 | 0 | $30K | |
| 2025-03-30 | LightningAngola, Steuben County | 0 | 0 | $8K | |
| 2025-03-19 | LightningAuburn, DeKalb County | 0 | 0 | $15K | |
| 2025-03-15 | LightningFairmount, Grant County | 0 | 0 | $35K | |
| 2024-08-02 | LightningQueensville, Jennings County | 0 | 2 | $941 | |
| 2024-08-01 | LightningConnersville, Fayette County | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2023-07-08 | LightningSpring Hills, Marion County | 0 | 2 | $726K | |
| 2023-05-08 | LightningEvansville, Vanderburgh County | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2022-07-23 | LightningJasper County Airport, Jasper County | 0 | 1 | – |
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
- Hamilton County: the county's whole recordThe Indiana county with the most lightning records per square mile
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