If You Live in These States, You're More Likely to Get Struck by Lightning
Lightning strikes every state, but one state in particular has been dubbed the U.S. "lightning capital."

Summer is heating up across the U.S., with the rising temperatures frequently bringing summer storms along for the ride. While the warmer weather can increase the risk of everything from hurricanes to landslides in certain parts of the country, there's one summer phenomenon that affects all 50 states, and have deadly consequences: lightning. According to the National Lightning Safety Council, approximately 70 percent of lightning fatalities take place in June, July, and August, with fishing, beach activities, camping, boating, and yard work associated with the greatest number of lightning-related deaths between 2006 and 2019.
Though thunderstorms are common across the U.S., certain states have significantly higher rates of lightning strikes than others. According to a 2020 report published by the Earth Networks Total Lightning Network, in 2019, Texas had 16,032,609 in-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, the highest number of any state in the country, with Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Florida, Missouri, South Dakota, Iowa, Colorado, and New Mexico rounding out the top 10.
However, there's one state in particular that has been dubbed the "lightning capital" of the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Florida. The CDC reports that the Sunshine State has seen a staggering 2,000 lightning injuries in the past 50 years—more than any other state—as well as over 5.2 million cloud-to-cloud or cloud-to-ground strikes hitting the state in 2019 alone.
That said, with an estimated 90 percent of lightning strike victims surviving their injuries, the states with the most lightning strikes and the most lightning fatalities are not always one and the same. If you want to gauge your risk, read on to discover which U.S. states and territories have the highest number of fatal lightning strikes, according to data from the Lightning Safety Council.
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52
Wyoming

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 0
51
Washington

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 0
50
Rhode Island

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 0
49
New Hampshire

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 0
48
Nevada

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 0
47
Nebraska

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 0
46
Maryland

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 0
45
Maine

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 0
44
Hawaii

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 0
43
Washington D.C.

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 0
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42
Delaware

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 0
41
Alaska

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 0
40
Idaho

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 0
39
Connecticut

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 0
38
West Virginia

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 1
37
Vermont

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 1
36
Puerto Rico

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 1
35
Oregon

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 1
34
Oklahoma

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 1
33
North Dakota

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 1
32
Virginia

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 2
31
South Dakota

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 2
30
Montana

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 2
29
Minnesota

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 2
28
Massachusetts

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 2
27
Iowa

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 2
26
New Mexico

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 3
25
Kansas

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 3
24
Indiana

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 3
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23
Tennessee

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 4
22
Kentucky

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 4
21
Illinois

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 4
20
Wisconsin

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 5
19
South Carolina

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 5
18
New Jersey

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 5
17
Mississippi

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 5
16
Michigan

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 5
15
California

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 5
14
Utah

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 6
13
Ohio

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 6
12
New York

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 6
11
Arkansas

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 6
10
Georgia

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 7
9
Louisiana

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 8
8
Pennsylvania

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 9
7
Missouri

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 10
6
Colorado

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 10
5
North Carolina

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 12
4
Arizona

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 12
3
Alabama

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 14
2
Texas

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 22
1
Florida

Number of lightning deaths from 2011-2020: 49
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