Minnesota lightning
Every recorded lightning record since 1996 · 72 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 288 lightning records in Minnesota from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 9.3 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the May 6, 2012 lightning in Faribault County: 2 deaths and 2 injuries. Minnesota ranks 26th of 52 states and territories by count and 37th of 51 per square mile.
Lightning in Minnesota, 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
- 2881996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 9.3average
- Deaths
- 1182 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $34Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 200532 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 Minnesota?
Minnesota averages about 9.3 lightning records a year since 2000, 26th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2005 (32). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Minnesota records 36 lightning records since 1996, 37th 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 Minnesota have the most lightning records?
Per square mile, Hennepin County leads Minnesota: 17 days with a lightning record since 1996, 30.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, St. Louis County has the most lightning records (26 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 Minnesota?
52% of its lightning records since 1996 fell in June and July. The busiest month is June (78 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 2 · Apr 13 · May 36 · Jun 78 · Jul 71 · Aug 44 · Sep 32 · Oct 11 · 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 Minnesota?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-05-06 | LightningBlue Earth, Faribault County Two people were killed in a house fire in Blue Earth, Minnesota, Sunday morning around 5 a.m. The deceased were a 39 year old male, and a 47 year old male. An investigation found the cause of the fire had been a lightning strike to the home, which had no functioning smoke detectors. | 2 | 2 | – | |
| 2012-08-18 | LightningDuluth Sky Harbor Apt, St. Louis County A boy died from injuries sustained from a lightning strike that hit the water near him. Four others in his boating party were injured. | 1 | 4 | – | |
| 2009-05-06 | LightningWaite Park, Stearns County Several thunderstorms developed across the St. Cloud area the afternoon of May 6th. An individual was working in his backyard at the time one of the thunderstorms moved through and was struck by lightning. The injuries related to the lightning strike caused his unfortunate death six days later. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 1996-08-06 | LightningGrand Marais, Cook County A 12-year-old girl died near Gunflint Lake after being struck by lightning. She and her family were walking back to their cabin and were about 20 yards from the building when the strike occurred. The girl's mother was knocked unconscious and did not have a pulse. She was revived by cardiopulmonary resuscitation and ... | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2007-06-08 | LightningBowstring, Itasca County A man died of a lightning strike on Bowstring Lake on the evening of June 8th. He may have been on his dock when struck. His body was found in the lake the following day. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2013-08-26 | LightningSturgeon Lake, Pine County The Pine County Sheriff reported that a male was struck by lightning about 4 miles east-southeast of Sturgeon Lake, MN on Alder Loop in a development called Hogan's Acres. The individual passed away from his injuries after being taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Moose Lake, MN. The investigation showed that the ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2009-07-21 | LightningStillwater, Washington County A 14 year old girl was struck by lightning as she played under a tree during a thunderstorm. She later died at a hospital from her injuries. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1998-08-09 | LightningWhite Bear Lake, Ramsey County One man died because of lightning strike while under a tree. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1998-06-26 | LightningMeire Grove, Stearns County Man struck by lightning while working in his hay field. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1996-06-28 | LightningEly, Lake County A 25 year old man was struck and killed by lightning while camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The victim was an instructor for the Voyageur Outward Bound School. Another man was knocked unconscious. The incident occurred at a camp site near the Lake One Dam on the Kawishiwi River. | 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 Minnesota
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-07-13 | LightningBrainerd, Crow Wing County | 0 | 0 | $2.8M | |
| 2005-07-21 | LightningByron, Olmsted County | 0 | 0 | $2.4M | |
| 2014-08-04 | LightningLa Crescent, Houston County | 0 | 0 | $1.9M | |
| 2005-09-04 | Hurricane Katrina · LightningPrior Lake, Scott County One named storm filed by several offices: 3 records in 2 episodes, 2005-09-04 to 2005-09-21; the totals are the storm's. | 0 | 2 | $1.7M | |
| 2006-07-24 | LightningFarmington, Dakota County | 0 | 0 | $1.5M | |
| 2006-06-06 | LightningHavana, Steele County | 0 | 0 | $1.5M | |
| 2013-06-21 | LightningWoodland, Hennepin County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $1.4M | |
| 1999-05-10 | LightningButler, Otter Tail County | 0 | 0 | $886K |
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 Minnesota?
Minnesota'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 | Minnesota | United States | Minnesota's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 55 | 3,521 | 1.6% |
| 2000s | 106 | 8,052 | 1.3% |
| 2010s | 106 | 5,103 | 2.1% |
| 2020-26 | 21 | 1,544 | 1.4% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent lightning records in Minnesota
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-08 | LightningMarais, Cook County | 0 | 0 | $20K | |
| 2025-08-08 | LightningThorp, Aitkin County | 0 | 0 | $10K | |
| 2025-07-10 | LightningDuluth Hgts, St. Louis County | 0 | 0 | $50K | |
| 2025-04-28 | LightningMissabe Jct, St. Louis County | 0 | 0 | $10K | |
| 2025-04-22 | LightningLake Shr, Cass County | 0 | 0 | $100K | |
| 2025-04-17 | LightningScanlon, Carlton County | 0 | 0 | $75K | |
| 2021-08-05 | LightningLake Elmo, Washington County | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2020-08-08 | LightningLakeville, Dakota County | 0 | 3 | $11K | |
| 2020-07-08 | LightningBarnesville, Clay County | 0 | 0 | $285K | |
| 2018-06-30 | LightningGull Lake, Cass County | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2017-05-16 | LightningWoodbury, Washington County | 0 | 0 | $542K | |
| 2016-07-23 | LightningSacred Heart, Renville County | 0 | 0 | $615K |
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
- Hennepin County: the county's whole recordThe Minnesota county with the most lightning records per square mile
- Lightning across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
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