Lightning striking behind airplane – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by FTiare
There is a new lightning champion in the United States.
Oklahoma has overtaken Florida as the lightning capital of the country, a new survey announced Monday, January 5.
Last year, Oklahoma overtook the state that has historically led this ranking with about 73 lightning flashes per square mile, “signaling a broader surge in lightning activity across the Great Plains,” the research said.
According to a statement from Elizabeth DiGangi, a scientist with environmental consulting firm AEM, “Oklahoma’s rise to the top of our lightning rankings represents a significant shift in 2025’s weather patterns compared with past years.” With the help of modern technologies, she added, “we can see how lightning patterns are evolving, with the Great Plains emerging as an increasingly active region for high-impact storms.”
The company made use of information from its 1,800-sensor detection network located around the US.
Why did Oklahoma outperform Florida in 2025 when it came to lightning flash concentration?
In an email to USA TODAY, DiGangi stated that Florida had a drier year than usual in 2025, probably due in part to the majority of Atlantic hurricanes remaining out to sea. In contrast, Oklahoma experienced above-normal precipitation for multiple months during a very busy year for severe weather.
“Therefore, there were simply more thunderstorms producing more flashes per square mile in Oklahoma than in Florida last year,” she stated to USA TODAY.
Is this change a one-year anomaly or a part of a trend?
“It’s difficult to say at this time whether this is part of a larger trend,” DiGangi stated. Since the warm season of 2025 was marked by neutral El Niño/La Niña circumstances, other significant weather and climate factors, particularly anthropogenic (caused by humans) climate change, could have a greater impact on the frequency of thunderstorms in the United States.. “
Research on the causes of spring and summer thunderstorms without El Niño or La Niña will benefit from 2026 data, she continued.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s most current forecast, which was issued in December, La Niña is expected to persist throughout the winter before being replaced by a neutral El Niño/La Niña condition.The ns. “
Which state saw the highest number of flashes overall?
Texas dominated in storm intensity and sheer volume, while Oklahoma lead in lightning concentration, according to the AEM report. Over 13 million flashes were reported in Texas, 1.3 million more above the state’s historical average.
Overall, the Great Plains were home to around half of the ten states with the strongest lightning storms, highlighting the area’s standing as a hotspot for severe weather.
Florida continues to lead the nation in lightning-related fatalities.
According to a Jan. 4 email sent to USA TODAY by John Jensenius of the National Lightning Safety Council, Florida once again topped the country in 2025 for lightning fatalities, with four fatalities.
“During 2025, there were a total of 21 known lightning fatalities in the United States and its territories,” Jensenius stated. Slightly over the 10-year average of 20, this is the highest annual tally of lightning deaths in the United States since 2019.
He noted that there were fatalities in 12 states and one U.S. territory. With four fatalities, Florida led the country. North Carolina, Oklahoma, Georgia, New Jersey, and Colorado each had two fatalities.
Important conclusions from the AEM lightning report:
- The states with the highest flash density were Oklahoma (73 flashes per square mile), followed by Florida, Louisiana, and Kansas.
- The county with the highest flash density in the country was Kay County, Oklahoma, with 123.4 flashes per square mile.
- Peak lightning day: With 929,016 flashes registered countrywide, June 15 was the most lightning-heavy day of the year.
- The busiest airport in the world, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, had almost 10,000 lightning strikes. The peak lightning day occurred during the height of the summer travel season at eight of the ten busiest airports in the United States.
- Exposure to tourist landmarks: Millennium Park in Chicago experienced more than 11,000 lightning strikes, more than any other popular American landmark. Peak lightning occurred at half of the country’s most popular sites during June and August, when tourist numbers are at their maximum.
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Melissa’s career in writing started more than 20 years ago. Today, she lives in South Florida with her husband and two boys.
