Virginia lightning
Every recorded lightning record since 1996 · 104 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 536 lightning records in Virginia from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 16 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the July 15, 2017 lightning in Chesapeake (city): 3 deaths, 6 injuries and $1.2 million in damage in 2025 dollars. Virginia ranks 10th of 52 states and territories by count and 14th of 51 per square mile.
Lightning in Virginia, 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
- 5361996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 16average
- Deaths
- 19102 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $25Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 200053 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 Virginia?
Virginia averages about 16 lightning records a year since 2000, 10th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2000 (53). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Virginia records 136 lightning records since 1996, 14th 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 Virginia have the most lightning records?
Per square mile, Virginia Beach (city) leads Virginia: 14 days with a lightning record since 1996, 57.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Bedford County has the most lightning records (22 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 Virginia?
53% of its lightning records since 1996 fell in June and July. The busiest month is July (144 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 2 · Feb 4 · Mar 9 · Apr 24 · May 72 · Jun 142 · Jul 144 · Aug 114 · Sep 20 · Oct 2 · Nov 1 · Dec 2 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest lightning records in Virginia?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-07-15 | LightningChesapeake (city) Lightning strike caused a deadly fire at the Chesapeake Senior Living Complex. The fire killed three people and injured six others. There were 68 units that were damaged beyond repair. | 3 | 6 | $1.2M | |
| 2001-08-30 | LightningRemington, Fauquier County Two farmhands in a three-sided metal calf feeding pen were killed by lightning. | 2 | 0 | $2K | |
| 2023-04-06 | LightningWares Xrds, Louisa County A 73 year old man was struck and killed by lightning while boating on Lake Anna in Louisa county. Also, a pregnant woman was injured. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2019-09-14 | LightningThomastown, Bath County A 12-year old male went outside to play in a wooden area after rain had stopped falling, and a thunderstorm had moved out of the area. Lightning struck the child. First responders determined that the child did not have a pulse and was not breathing. Air support for medical transport was requested, but was not ... | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2000-07-30 | LightningNorth Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach (city) Lightning struck and killed a man doing yardwork near a tree in the Great Neck Point section of Virginia Beach. Witnesses said there was no rain falling in the area at the time, and described the bolt as coming out of clear skies. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2007-06-09 | LightningGladys, Campbell County A 14 year old boy was killed by a lightning strike while standing in a field as a non-severe thunderstorm moved through the area. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2009-06-03 | LightningFredericksburg Airport, Fredericksburg (city) Lightning struck two boys playing baseball during a thunderstorm at Lee Hill Park in Fredericksburg, Virginia. One boy was pronounced dead at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg and the other boy was in critical condition. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2008-07-06 | LightningVirginia Beach (city) Lightning strike killed a woman at Sandbridge in Virginia Beach. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1997-07-16 | LightningFieldale, Henry County Thunderstorms during the afternoon hours on the 16th resulted in damaging winds, damaging lightning, and a lightning fatality.A man was struck by lightning while in his yard in Fieldale. He was in critical condition in a hospital for about about two weeks before passing away. Thunderstorm wind knocked down trees in ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1996-07-14 | LightningHarrisonburg, Rockingham County A soccer player was struck by lightning at the Rockingham Co fairgrounds. The match had been called due to the storm, but the athlete had not sought shelter before the lightning struck. He perished approximately 12 hours later. | 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 Virginia
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-04-28 | LightningOakton, Fairfax County | 0 | 0 | $2.0M | |
| 2017-07-15 | LightningChesapeake (city) | 3 | 6 | $1.2M | |
| 2001-08-11 | LightningCentreville, Fairfax County | 0 | 0 | $1.2M | |
| 1996-06-24 | LightningGlen Allen, Henrico County | 0 | 0 | $941K | |
| 2001-07-04 | LightningBassett Forks, Henry County | 0 | 0 | $667K | |
| 2010-07-09 | LightningPhilpott, Henry County | 0 | 0 | $541K | |
| 2016-07-12 | LightningRoanoke (city) | 0 | 1 | $492K | |
| 1997-06-25 | LightningUnion Hall, Franklin County | 0 | 0 | $460K |
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 Virginia?
Virginia'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 | Virginia | United States | Virginia's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 121 | 3,521 | 3.4% |
| 2000s | 193 | 8,052 | 2.4% |
| 2010s | 135 | 5,103 | 2.6% |
| 2020-26 | 87 | 1,544 | 5.6% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent lightning records in Virginia
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-22 | LightningFloyd County | 0 | 0 | $5K | |
| 2025-09-27 | LightningSmithfield, Isle of Wight County | 0 | 0 | $20K | |
| 2025-09-04 | LightningChesterfield County | 0 | 0 | $20K | |
| 2025-07-31 | LightningIrving, Bedford County | 0 | 0 | $50K | |
| 2025-07-27 | LightningSigma, Virginia Beach (city) | 0 | 0 | $2K | |
| 2025-07-17 | LightningEona, Carroll County | 0 | 0 | $10K | |
| 2025-07-14 | LightningCave Spg, Roanoke County | 0 | 0 | $50K | |
| 2025-07-14 | LightningUnion Hall, Franklin County | 0 | 0 | $50K | |
| 2025-07-08 | LightningJohnson Station, Buckingham County | 0 | 0 | $40K | |
| 2025-06-19 | LightningShort Pump, Henrico County | 0 | 0 | $1K | |
| 2025-05-13 | LightningCrewe, Nottoway County | 0 | 0 | $200 | |
| 2025-05-05 | LightningLanesville, King William County | 0 | 0 | $1K |
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
- Virginia Beach (city): the county's whole recordThe Virginia county with the most lightning records per square mile
- Lightning across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in VirginiaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Virginia20,677 records
- Winter storms in Virginia10,408 records
- Floods in Virginia8,165 records