Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage. Every one the National Weather Service has filed, by year and by state, with the deadliest and costliest.
The deadliest and costliest on the map
The deadliest and costliest lightning episodes on record.
- 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
- 18,220
- Deaths
- 1,011
- Injuries
- 5,824
- Damage
- $1.1 billion
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
Every year
Deaths each year
The deadliest
Deaths from this kind of event within each episode.
- Lightning Strike in Missouri, August 23, 2002Lightning struck four individuals who got caught in an open field during a thunderstorm, and fled under a tree for shelter.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Tennessee, May 8 to 11, 2024A widespread severe weather event impacted Middle Tennessee beginning in the early morning hours of May 8, 2024, and continued through the early morning hours of May 9th.
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Virginia, July 14 to 15, 2017Scattered severe thunderstorms in advance of a cold front produced damaging winds and heavy rain across portions of eastern Virginia.
- Lightning Strike in Louisiana, December 20, 2007A warm front moved northward during the day of 12/19 and became stationary near the Arkansas/Louisiana border.
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Georgia, June 27, 2004Several Atlanta news media television stations, along with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that three individuals were killed and six were injured at Buford Dam State Park at the south end of Lake Lanier when lightning strikes hit one or more trees under which the…
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, June 26, 2002Lightning was believed to be responsible for a fire in a mobile home in the Shiloh community between Hamilton and Hackleburg of SR 187. Three children were killed and two adults and two other children were injured in the fire.
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 29, 2003Three people were killed and another injured when lightning struck a large oak tree, which then fell on and crushed the vehicle they were sitting in. Two other vehicles were damaged by the fallen tree.
- Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, August 22, 2007Thunderstorms with heavy rain and the usual lightning rolled through the Madison area, resulting in flash flooding and a lightning incident that received considerable media attention. See the Dane County Flash Flood event for related information.
- 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.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, March 27 to 30, 2025Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms pummeled the Lower Rio Grande Valley, especially during the afternoon and overnight hours of March 27th into early on March 28th, resulting in historic seasonal rainfall and widespread flash and areal flooding across the RGV.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, April 24 to 27, 2026From April 24 to April 27, daily thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon and evening, triggered by a dryline and a meandering frontal boundary.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, May 1 to 3, 2007A split in the upper levels of the atmosphere steered several southern stream impulses into north Texas, producing flash flooding, strong winds, and a few tornadoes. The most impressive of these events was a derecho which moved through North Texas on May 2.
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Georgia, July 28, 2005The Newnan Times-Herald reported that a large white oak tree was blown down by thunderstorm winds onto a car being driven on Lower Fayetteville Road. The two occupants were not injured.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, July 19 to 20, 2012During the early morning hours on July 19th, a convective system moved southeast across southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky. This left behind an outflow boundary that extended from near Madison, Indiana southeast through the Kentucky Bluegrass.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Texas, September 1 to 4, 2020An upper level trough moved very slowly from the Rockies into the Plains during the first week of September, resulting in several days of showers and thunderstorms. Many storms became strong with gusty winds and hail, but the primary result was heavy rain and flooding.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Massachusetts, September 6, 2014An approaching cold front provided enough lift in a rather unstable environment to produce showers and thunderstorms across southern New England. Many of these storms produced strong to damaging winds.
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Maryland, July 25, 2010A 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.
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Utah, July 11 to 13, 2011Thunderstorms 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.
- Lightning Strikes in Arkansas, December 20, 2007An upper level low pressure center moving across Arkansas brought numerous thunderstorms and locally heavy rain on the morning of the 20th.
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Georgia, July 13, 2010An unusually strong cold front was pushing south through the Ohio Valle and mid-Atlantic region and into the southeast U.S. A large subtropical ridge of high pressure aloft was located across the southern plains.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Kentucky, August 21, 2013A well defined and progressive nearly cutoff low was positioned over east central Indiana during the afternoon of August 21st.
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Indiana, September 19, 2013Thunderstorms moved into northwest Indiana during the late morning and early afternoon of September 19th producing deadly lightning. Later in the afternoon, a supercell developed producing large hail and damaging winds.
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Louisiana, July 4, 2011A large outflow boundary initiated by previous showers and thunderstorms over northern Arkansas during the day Monday spread south into the Four State Region during the late afternoon and evening.
- Lightning Strike in Florida, March 29, 2001A fire inspector for the State Fire Marshal's office determined that lightning lightning struck and ignited a fire at a group home on the 3400 block of Drance Street in Charlotte Harbor.
- Flash Flooding and Flood in California, September 1 to 3, 2001Part of the remnants of Hurricane Flossie, moved across Southwest California over a three day period.On 09/01/01, thunderstorms formed over the mountains and deserts of San Diego and Riverside Counties.
The costliest
Damage from this kind of event within each episode, in the dollars of its year.
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Nebraska, May 23, 2019
- Tornado and Hail in Florida, July 21, 2007
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Wisconsin, August 23 to 24, 2006
- Lightning Strike in Louisiana, March 12, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Iowa, October 24, 2024
- Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, October 6, 2007
- Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, August 23, 2008
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in New Jersey, August 15, 2012
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Alabama, May 20 to 21, 2025
- Flash Flood and Flooding in Texas, May 16, 2020
- Lightning Strike in Tennessee, May 23, 1999
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 21, 2010
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Texas, May 19 to 22, 2026
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Massachusetts, June 27, 2008
- Lightning Strikes in Texas, July 28, 1997
- Hail and Lightning Strikes in Tennessee, April 28, 2023
- Lightning Strike in South Carolina, May 25, 1996
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Louisiana, December 29, 2010
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Texas, June 24 to 29, 2019
- Lightning Strike in South Carolina, July 5, 2023
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Illinois, July 22 to 23, 2011
- Lightning Strike in Florida, July 4, 2005
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, August 24, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Florida, March 14, 1999
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Indiana, June 22 to 23, 2010
By state
| State or waters | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 1,777 | 178 | 1,002 | $112 million |
| Georgia | 1,315 | 40 | 285 | $103 million |
| Texas | 1,001 | 82 | 291 | $103 million |
| North Carolina | 813 | 41 | 277 | $58 million |
| Alabama | 716 | 40 | 195 | $35 million |
| Wisconsin | 662 | 23 | 128 | $74 million |
| New Jersey | 632 | 24 | 200 | $25 million |
| New York | 582 | 19 | 272 | $13 million |
| Pennsylvania | 554 | 27 | 230 | $18 million |
| Virginia | 536 | 19 | 102 | $16 million |
| South Carolina | 516 | 22 | 148 | $42 million |
| Massachusetts | 501 | 8 | 165 | $26 million |
| Tennessee | 489 | 24 | 106 | $37 million |
| Colorado | 475 | 50 | 308 | $12 million |
| Illinois | 447 | 22 | 90 | $26 million |
| Louisiana | 437 | 39 | 123 | $41 million |
| Indiana | 395 | 14 | 104 | $27 million |
| Mississippi | 393 | 21 | 53 | $22 million |
| Arkansas | 387 | 22 | 83 | $28 million |
| Oklahoma | 377 | 13 | 61 | $25 million |
| Iowa | 366 | 7 | 46 | $26 million |
| California | 355 | 16 | 83 | $8.9 million |
| Kansas | 342 | 10 | 40 | $13 million |
| Michigan | 327 | 19 | 127 | $19 million |
| Maryland | 313 | 12 | 85 | $20 million |
| Minnesota | 288 | 11 | 82 | $24 million |
| Missouri | 280 | 26 | 70 | $10 million |
| Arizona | 255 | 24 | 114 | $8.3 million |
| Ohio | 242 | 28 | 123 | $13 million |
| Kentucky | 239 | 21 | 61 | $8.8 million |
| Maine | 215 | 5 | 73 | $8.5 million |
| New Hampshire | 208 | 0 | 118 | $10 million |
| Nebraska | 204 | 5 | 29 | $31 million |
| Connecticut | 171 | 4 | 78 | $2.5 million |
| Delaware | 145 | 0 | 13 | $6.3 million |
| South Dakota | 127 | 5 | 20 | $5.0 million |
| Oregon | 120 | 2 | 14 | $3.0 million |
| North Dakota | 109 | 2 | 13 | $2.3 million |
| Washington | 106 | 2 | 35 | $3.3 million |
| West Virginia | 96 | 3 | 42 | $5.8 million |
| Vermont | 94 | 4 | 18 | $6.4 million |
| Nevada | 81 | 1 | 22 | $8.4 million |
| Idaho | 76 | 4 | 18 | $2.5 million |
| Utah | 75 | 22 | 44 | $1.8 million |
| New Mexico | 70 | 13 | 52 | $872,000 |
| Puerto Rico | 60 | 9 | 17 | $489,000 |
| Rhode Island | 59 | 2 | 19 | $1.4 million |
| Wyoming | 54 | 10 | 81 | $1.2 million |
| Montana | 51 | 9 | 38 | $657,000 |
| Hawaii | 36 | 0 | 5 | $1.2 million |
| Guam | 23 | 2 | 0 | $567,000 |
| District of Columbia | 8 | 3 | 14 | $235,000 |
| Alaska | 8 | 0 | 4 | $8,000 |
| American Samoa | 8 | 1 | 2 | $241,000 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 4 | 1 | 1 | $62,000 |
Every kind of event
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Hail
- Flash Flood
- High Wind
- Winter Storm
- Drought
- Winter Weather
- Tornado
- Heavy Snow
- Flood
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind
- Heat
- Heavy Rain
- Strong Wind
- Excessive Heat
- Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Lightning
- Dense Fog
- Blizzard
- Frost/Freeze
- Ice Storm
- High Surf
- Funnel Cloud
- Wildfire
- Tropical Storm
- Waterspout
- Coastal Flood
- Lake-Effect Snow
- Debris Flow
- Hurricane (Typhoon)
- Dust Storm
- Rip Current
- Storm Surge/Tide
- Marine High Wind
- Sleet
- Avalanche
- Marine Hail
- Astronomical Low Tide
- Marine Tropical Storm
- Tropical Depression
- Freezing Fog
- Lakeshore Flood
- Dust Devil
- Marine Strong Wind
- Dense Smoke
- Marine Hurricane/Typhoon
- Volcanic Ashfall
- Seiche
- Sneakerwave
- Volcanic Ash
- Tsunami
- Marine Tropical Depression
- Marine Dense Fog
- Northern Lights
- Marine Lightning
- Hurricane
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.