Lightning Report

As the lightning capital of the United States, Florida continues to have the highest concentration of lightning activity in the U.S.  

Nine of the top 10 states with the highest concentrations of lightning are situated in areas known for their lightning activity, including the Gulf Coast, the Southeast, and the Great Plains regions. The only state that is not from one of these three regions is Missouri, which dislodged South Carolina from the top 10 this year. More than two dozen counties across Missouri experienced above-average rainfall over the past year.

As the lightning capital of the U.S., seven of the top 10 counties with the highest concentration of lightning activity are in Florida. But the top county with the single-greatest density of lightning activity is St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana.  

Besides Florida, the remaining three spots in the top 10 are occupied by three counties in Louisiana and Mississippi (all located along the Gulf Coast in the Mississippi Delta region). Last year’s top contender, Poquoson City, Virginia, disappeared completely from the top 10, which underscores the extreme concentration of lightning in the Florida and Gulf Coast counties.

As the lightning capital of the U.S., five of the top 10 counties with the most thunder hours are in Florida. The remaining counties, however, are not from any of the lightning hotspots in the Gulf Coast or Southeast. They are from Hawaii, Wyoming, Nevada, and Arizona.

In keeping with the rest of Hawaii, Honolulu County’s thunder hours can be traced to the area’s large number of storms with mild lightning activity. The remaining counties are among the top 30 in land area, which illustrates how the size of larger areas can skew lightning counts in their favor, even when they have lower concentrations of lightning activity.

Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts (DTAs) are AEM’s patented severe weather warnings. When the lightning flash rate of a thunderstorm cell exceeds a high enough threshold to indicate that it poses a material threat to life and property, a DTA is automatically issued. The number of DTAs issued in an area correlates closely with the number of high-intensity thunderstorms.

As one might expect, Texas leads the list because of its large land area. But the other states on this list also appear in the top ten for lightning flash density. In other words, the states with the highest concentrations of lightning also tend to have the largest numbers of intense thunderstorms.

As the lightning capital of the United States, Florida continues to have the highest concentration of lightning activity in the U.S.

Nine of the top 10 states with the highest concentrations of lightning are situated in areas known for their lightning activity, including the Gulf Coast, the Southeast, and the Great Plains regions. The only state that is not from one of these three regions is Missouri, which dislodged South Carolina from the top 10 this year. More than two dozen counties across Missouri experienced above-average rainfall over the past year.

As the lightning capital of the United States, Florida continues to have the highest concentration of lightning activity in the U.S.

Nine of the top 10 states with the highest concentrations of lightning are situated in areas known for their lightning activity, including the Gulf Coast, the Southeast, and the Great Plains regions. The only state that is not from one of these three regions is Missouri, which dislodged South Carolina from the top 10 this year. More than two dozen counties across Missouri experienced above-average rainfall over the past year.

While lightning flash density indicates the concentration of lightning activity in a region, total thunder hours indicate how that lightning was distributed over time. Since the average storm lasts for about an hour, the thunder hour provides an ideal level of granularity for estimating the “storminess” of an area or how frequently an area must deal with lightning risk. 

It’s no surprise that states like Texas (due to its size) and Florida (as the lightning capital of the U.S.) rank among the top states with the most thunder hours. But Hawaii and California are among the top 10 states with the most thunder hours, even though they are among the bottom 10 states for lightning flash density. These are states that tend to have large numbers of storms, but each storm tends to have less lightning activity. 

As the lightning capital of the United States, Florida continues to have the highest concentration of lightning activity in the U.S.

Nine of the top 10 states with the highest concentrations of lightning are situated in areas known for their lightning activity, including the Gulf Coast, the Southeast, and the Great Plains regions. The only state that is not from one of these three regions is Missouri, which dislodged South Carolina from the top 10 this year. More than two dozen counties across Missouri experienced above-average rainfall over the past year.

As the lightning capital of the U.S., seven of the top 10 counties with the highest concentration of lightning activity are in Florida. But the top county with the single-greatest density of lightning activity is St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana.  

Besides Florida, the remaining three spots in the top 10 are occupied by three counties in Louisiana and Mississippi (all located along the Gulf Coast in the Mississippi Delta region). Last year’s top contender, Poquoson City, Virginia, disappeared completely from the top 10, which underscores the extreme concentration of lightning in the Florida and Gulf Coast counties.

While lightning flash density indicates the concentration of lightning activity in a region, total thunder hours indicate how that lightning was distributed over time. Since the average storm lasts for about an hour, the thunder hour provides an ideal level of granularity for estimating the “storminess” of an area or how frequently an area must deal with lightning risk. 

It’s no surprise that states like Texas (due to its size) and Florida (as the lightning capital of the U.S.) rank among the top states with the most thunder hours. But Hawaii and California are among the top 10 states with the most thunder hours, even though they are among the bottom 10 states for lightning flash density. These are states that tend to have large numbers of storms, but each storm tends to have less lightning activity.