Lightning in District of Columbia
Every lightning event the National Weather Service has filed in District of Columbia, year by year, with the most significant episodes. A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
The most significant on the map
The most significant lightning episodes in District of Columbia.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 8
- Deaths
- 3
- Injuries
- 14
- Damage
- $235,000
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in District of Columbia, August 4, 2022A surface trough ignited numerous showers and thunderstorms that resulted in scattered instances of damaging wind gusts and sporadic large hail.
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in District of Columbia, June 13, 1998A vigorous upper-level disturbance acted upon increasingly warm and humid air near the surface to produce a squall line of strong to severe thunderstorms west of the metropolitan region during the early afternoon.
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in District of Columbia, August 5, 2022A few thunderstorms produced locally damaging winds ahead of a pressure trough.
- Lightning Strike in District of Columbia, June 20, 1996Lightning reportedly struck several homes in Northwest, sparking small fires.
- Lightning Strike in District of Columbia, June 4, 2020Storms moving through DC produced lightning. One of the strikes hit two people, leading to non-life threatening injuries.
- Lightning Strike in District of Columbia, June 19, 1996A 22 year-old man was reported in critical condition after being struck by lightning during the early evening of the 19th.
- Flash Flood and Lightning Strike in District of Columbia, June 17, 2004A man was struck by lightning while visiting the Lincoln Memorial. He took shelter under a treein the midst of a passing thunderstorm. His clothes and shoes were shredded from the bolt.He was knocked unconscious and later transported to the hospital.
- Lightning Strike in District of Columbia, August 14, 1999A thunderstorm producing frequent cloud to ground lightning moved across the District around 5:30 PM EDT. The roof of a home on Westminster Street in Northwest caught fire after a lightning bolt struck the building.
More
Lightning everywhereEvery kind of event in District of Columbia
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24.