Utah lightning
Every recorded lightning record since 1996 · 21 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 75 lightning records in Utah from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 3.0 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the August 23, 2000 lightning in Tooele County: 2 deaths and 4 injuries. Utah ranks 44th of 52 states and territories by count and 46th of 51 per square mile.
Lightning in Utah, 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
- 751996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 3.0average
- Deaths
- 2244 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $2.7Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 200010 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 Utah?
Utah averages about 3.0 lightning records a year since 2000, 44th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2000 (10). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Utah records 9.1 lightning records since 1996, 46th 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 Utah have the most lightning records?
Per square mile, Daggett County leads Utah: 10 days with a lightning record since 1996, 14.4 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Salt Lake County has the most lightning records (11 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 Utah?
49% of its lightning records since 1996 fell in July and August. The busiest month is July (21 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 0 · Apr 3 · May 16 · Jun 11 · Jul 21 · Aug 16 · Sep 2 · Oct 6 · Nov 0 · Dec 0 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest lightning records in Utah?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-08-23 | LightningCentral Portion, Tooele County A 26-year-old man and a 27-year-old man were struck and killed by lightning while fighting a fire on the north end of the Stansbury Mountains. The lightning strike also injured 4 other members of the Flame-N-Go's firefighting unit from the Utah State Prison's Lone Peak facility. The leader of the crew was not struck, ... | 2 | 4 | – | |
| 2003-07-19 | LightningCentral Portion, Summit County A mother and father were killed and their 3 children injured after being hit by lightning near Crystal Lake in the Uinta Mountains. The family had taken shelter from the thunderstorm under a tree when the lightning struck the tree. | 2 | 3 | – | |
| 2011-07-13 | LightningUtah Railway Jct, Carbon County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Thunderstorms formed across northern Utah again on July 13th. One of these storms produced a major flash flood near Tabiona, which resulted in one fatality, while two other deaths occurred due to lightning strikes in the Scofield area and San Rafael Desert. | 2 | 1 | – | |
| 2002-07-25 | LightningCountywide, Salt Lake County One 28-year-old male and one 23-year-old female, a husband and wife, were struck and killed by lightning near the summit of Lone Peak in the Wasatch Mountain Range just southeast of Salt Lake City. The experienced climbers saw the storm coming and were moving toward a more sheltered location when they were struck. A ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2000-05-24 | LightningMidvale, Salt Lake County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. An 11-year-old girl was killed and six other children were injured when lightning struck them as they were getting out of Midvalley Elementary School in Midvale. The children were walking across the playground, heading for their bus when the lightning struck. The victim was still alive as she was transferred to the ... | 1 | 7 | – | |
| 2003-08-14 | LightningCentral Portion, Summit County A 20-year-old woman was killed and her grandparents injured when they were struck by lightning while hiking to the Deadhorse lake area in the high Uintas. | 1 | 2 | – | |
| 1998-07-10 | LightningDraper, Salt Lake County A microburst wind gust to 72 mph (62kts) was measured at the Muskrat Springs RAWS from a severe thunderstorm. Lightning claimed the life of a construction worker in Draper and injured 2 co-workers. | 1 | 2 | – | |
| 1997-07-18 | LightningNeola, Duchesne County Lightning struck a group of Scouts camping in the Uinta mountains on this date. 1 young Boy Scout and 2 Scout leaders were hit by the lightning. 1 of the Scout leaders died. The group was hiking at the time from Cliff Lake to Henry's Fork Lake at an approximate elevation of 11,000 feet asl when the thunderstorm hit. | 1 | 2 | – | |
| 2024-08-17 | LightningCorinne, Box Elder County A lightning strike capsized a fishing boat with three passengers on board, throwing the passengers into the river, leading to one fatality and two injuries. First responders were called just after midnight local time. | 1 | 2 | – | |
| 2007-10-13 | LightningPineview, Summit County A 60-year-old male was struck and killed by lightning while camping near Poison Mountain in the Uinta Mountain range. The man, along with his son and brother, sought shelter in a tent. All three people were injured, but only the one died. | 1 | 2 | – |
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 Utah
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-08-13 | LightningHolladay, Salt Lake County | 0 | 0 | $552K | |
| 2018-04-07 | LightningSanta Clara, Washington County | 0 | 0 | $470K | |
| 2000-06-09 | LightningMyton, Duchesne County | 0 | 0 | $343K | |
| 1998-10-03 | LightningAlpine, Utah County | 0 | 1 | $181K | |
| 1998-08-26 | LightningHolladay, Salt Lake County | 0 | 1 | $18K | |
| 2009-08-24 | LightningSpring Lake, Utah County | 0 | 1 | $7K |
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 Utah?
Utah'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 | Utah | United States | Utah's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 16 | 3,521 | 0.45% |
| 2000s | 35 | 8,052 | 0.43% |
| 2010s | 20 | 5,103 | 0.39% |
| 2020-26 | 4 | 1,544 | 0.26% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent lightning records in Utah
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-08-17 | LightningCorinne, Box Elder County | 1 | 2 | – | |
| 2021-06-24 | LightningPotash, Grand County | 0 | 2 | – | |
| 2020-06-07 | LightningCedar Vly, Utah County | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2018-04-07 | LightningSanta Clara, Washington County | 0 | 0 | $470K | |
| 2017-07-29 | LightningBeaver County | 0 | 2 | – | |
| 2016-07-22 | LightningLucerne Valley, Daggett County | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2015-08-30 | LightningLehi, Utah County | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2012-07-29 | LightningPineview, Summit County | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2012-07-21 | LightningBoulder, Garfield County | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2011-08-19 | LightningWilson, Weber County | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2011-08-18 | LightningBryce Canyon, Garfield County | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2011-07-13 | LightningUtah Railway Jct, Carbon County | 1 | 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
- Daggett County: the county's whole recordThe Utah county with the most lightning records per square mile
- Lightning across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in UtahTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Winter storms in Utah4,165 records
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Utah2,483 records
- Floods in Utah1,399 records