Maryland lightning
Every recorded lightning record since 1996 · 24 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 313 lightning records in Maryland from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 9.8 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the July 25, 2010 lightning in Montgomery County: 2 deaths across 2 records. Maryland ranks 25th of 52 states and territories by count and 7th of 51 per square mile.
Lightning in Maryland, 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
- 3131996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 9.8average
- Deaths
- 1285 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $30Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 200039 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 Maryland?
Maryland averages about 9.8 lightning records a year since 2000, 25th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2000 (39). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Maryland records 322 lightning records since 1996, 7th 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 Maryland have the most lightning records?
Per square mile, Anne Arundel County leads Maryland: 31 days with a lightning record since 1996, 74.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Montgomery County has the most lightning records (42 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 Maryland?
55% of its lightning records since 1996 fell in June and July. The busiest month is June (94 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 1 · Feb 2 · Mar 4 · Apr 13 · May 32 · Jun 94 · Jul 79 · Aug 76 · Sep 11 · Oct 0 · Nov 1 · Dec 0 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest lightning records in Maryland?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-07-25 | LightningRockville, Montgomery County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong upper-level disturbance and its associated cold front moved into Maryland on the 25th. Hot and humid conditions ahead of the front led to high amounts of instability. Showers and thunderstorms developed along and ahead of the cold front. Due to the high amounts of instability, thunderstorms were able to mix ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2000-06-17 | LightningAnnapolis, Anne Arundel County A 58 year old man was killed and 8 people were injured after lightning struck the tree they were standing under near the athletic field at Annapolis Middle School. | 1 | 8 | – | |
| 2002-08-03 | LightningFrederick County One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Several thunderstorms with high winds, large hail, and frequent lightning moved through western and central Maryland between 2 and 6 PM EDT. In Allegany County, a few trees and power lines were downed in Cumberland. Pea sized hail was also reported. In Frederick County, a 52 year old man was killed by lightning while ... | 1 | 2 | $820K | |
| 1998-06-26 | LightningWest Baltimore, Baltimore (city) A weak upper-level disturbance, combined with a surface trough, triggered a hot, humid, unstable air mass lying across much of Maryland. Strong to severe thunderstorms developed rapidly in northern Maryland and tracked east-southeast into east-central and lower southern Maryland during the early evening. The main ... | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2007-06-27 | LightningOxon Hill, Prince George's County A thunderstorm, with nearly continuous lightning, moved out of Washington DC into adjacent western Prince Georges County, near Oxon Hill, MD. A 16 year old girl was struck by lightning waiting for a bus on Kennebec Street. She was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1998-06-15 | LightningFruitland, Wicomico County Lightning strike caused a fire to a barn. Also, a 20 year old man was struck and killed by lightning. | 1 | 0 | $36K | |
| 1996-06-19 | LightningDowntown, Baltimore (city) Lightning struck and killed a construction worker on a roof in downtown Baltimore. The worker died from cardiac arrest. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2022-08-04 | LightningCarney, Baltimore County A contracter was killed when they were struck by lightning while doing work in the 8800 block of Walther Boulevard. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2021-08-11 | LightningIjamsville, Frederick County Lightning struck a house causing a fire in the 9500 block of Ball Road. The fire caused the structure to collapse, killing a firefighter who was inside. | 1 | 0 | $327K | |
| 2000-07-14 | LightningJoppa, Harford County A man with a cell phone was hit by lightning near a tree while walking down a sidewalk. | 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 Maryland
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-06-20 | LightningGaithersburg, Montgomery County | 0 | 0 | $3.3M | |
| 2021-08-10 | LightningGermantown, Montgomery County | 0 | 0 | $2.7M | |
| 2004-05-25 | LightningPotomac, Montgomery County | 0 | 0 | $2.0M | |
| 1997-06-26 | LightningEaston, Talbot County | 0 | 5 | $1.8M | |
| 2001-07-01 | LightningTowson, Baltimore County | 0 | 0 | $1.7M | |
| 2000-08-07 | LightningFrederick County | 0 | 0 | $1.3M | |
| 2004-06-17 | LightningGambrills, Anne Arundel County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $1.0M | |
| 2005-06-06 | LightningMontgomery Vlg, Montgomery County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 1 | $831K |
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 Maryland?
Maryland'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 | Maryland | United States | Maryland's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 69 | 3,521 | 2.0% |
| 2000s | 175 | 8,052 | 2.2% |
| 2010s | 41 | 5,103 | 0.8% |
| 2020-26 | 28 | 1,544 | 1.8% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent lightning records in Maryland
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-14 | LightningChester, Queen Anne's County | 0 | 0 | $10K | |
| 2025-07-08 | LightningBruceville, Talbot County | 0 | 0 | $10K | |
| 2025-07-08 | LightningKennedyville, Kent County | 0 | 0 | $10K | |
| 2024-05-11 | LightningPoolesville, Montgomery County | 0 | 0 | $470K | |
| 2022-08-04 | LightningCarney, Baltimore County | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2021-08-11 | LightningIjamsville, Frederick County | 1 | 0 | $327K | |
| 2021-08-10 | LightningGermantown, Montgomery County | 0 | 0 | $2.7M | |
| 2018-08-08 | LightningBelltown, Baltimore County | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2018-08-07 | LightningTipton Aaf Airport, Anne Arundel County | 0 | 6 | – | |
| 2018-08-07 | LightningNorth Linthicum, Anne Arundel County | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2017-08-18 | LightningBel Air, Harford County | 0 | 10 | – | |
| 2017-07-24 | LightningAbingdon, Harford 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
- Anne Arundel County: the county's whole recordThe Maryland county with the most lightning records per square mile
- Lightning across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in MarylandTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
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- Winter storms in Maryland4,573 records
- Floods in Maryland3,545 records