Daily Almanac for
Dec 3, 2008
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Lightning Dangers

The National Weather Service publication Storm Data recorded a total of 9,045 deaths from lightning strikes between 1940 and 2006. According to the National Weather Service, lightning causes an average of 80 deaths and 300 injuries in the United States each year.

During a thunderstorm, avoid open spaces, trees, telephone booths, and ballparks. The safest place to be is in a building, preferably one with a lightning rod. The rod offers protection by intercepting lightning—an electrical charge—and transmitting its current into the ground. The other safe place is a car with the windows rolled up, as long as you don't touch any of the metal parts. If lightning strikes, the car's metal body will conduct the charge down to the ground—contrary to popular belief, the rubber of the wheels offers no protection.

Reported Lightning Deaths Per State, 1959–2003

Rank State Number of deaths
1959-2003		 Number of deaths
1990-2003
1. Florida 425 126
2. Texas 195 52
3. North Carolina 181 29
4. Ohio 136 31
5. New York 134 15
6. Tennessee 133 16
7. Louisiana 132 23
8. Colorado 123 39
8. Maryland 123 12
10. Pennsylvania 121 25
11. Arkansas 117 13
12. Alabama 101 24
12. Michigan 101 13
14. Oklahoma 98 17
15. Illinois 97 24
15. Mississippi 97 14
17. Georgia 95 23
18. South Carolina 89 19
19. New Mexico 88 14
20. Kentucky 87 12
21. Missouri 86 12
22. Indiana 85 20
23. Iowa 70 9
24. Arizona 66 17
25. Virginia 62 19
26. Kansas 61 7
26. New Jersey 61 7
28. Minnesota 59 8
29. Wisconsin 56 12
30. Utah 47 22
31. Nebraska 44 8
32. Puerto Rico 33 5
33. Wyoming 27 14
34. Idaho 26 7
34. Montana 26 7
34. Massachusetts 26 2
37. California 25 8
37. West Virginia 25 7
39. Maine 23 6
39. South Dakota 23 5
41. Delaware 15 4
41. Connecticut 15 2
43. Vermont 14 3
44. North Dakota 12 1
45. New Hampshire 8 2
45. Oregon 8 2
47. Nevada 6 2
48. Washington 5 4
48. D.C. 5 1
50. Rhode Island 4 0
51. Alaska 0 0
51. Hawaii 0 0
Source: National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Reported Lightning Deaths Per Capita, 1959–2003

Rank State Death rate
per million people
1959-2003		 Death rate
per million people
1990-2003
1. New Mexico 1.48 0.55
2. Wyoming 1.44 2.02
3. Arkansas 1.18 0.35
4. Colorado 0.95 0.65
5. Florida 0.94 0.56
6. Mississippi 0.87 0.35
7. Montana 0.75 0.55
7. Oklahoma 0.75 0.35
9. Louisiana 0.74 0.37
10. South Dakota 0.73 0.47
11. Utah 0.71 0.70
12. North Carolina 0.67 0.26
13. Tennessee 0.65 0.20
14. Maryland 0.64 0.16
15. Nebraska 0.63 0.33
15. South Carolina 0.63 0.34
17. Idaho 0.62 0.39
17. Vermont 0.62 0.35
19. Alabama 0.59 0.38
20. Kansas 0.57 0.19
21. Delaware 0.55 0.04
21. Iowa 0.55 0.22
21. Kentucky 0.55 0.21
24. Arizona 0.50 0.24
25. Maine 0.46 0.34
26. North Dakota 0.42 0.11
27. Missouri 0.39 0.15
28. Georgia 0.37 0.20
29. Indiana 0.35 0.24
30. Wisconsin 0.34 0.16
31. Minnesota 0.32 0.12
32. Texas 0.30 0.18
32. West Virginia 0.30 0.28
34. Ohio 0.28 0.20
34. Puerto Rico 0.28 0.09
36. Michigan 0.25 0.09
36. Virginia 0.25 0.19
38. Pennsylvania 0.23 0.14
39. Illinois 0.19 0.14
39. New Hampshire 0.19 0.12
41. New Jersey 0.18 0.06
42. D.C. 0.17 0.12
42. New York 0.17 0.06
44. Nevada 0.14 0.07
45. Connecticut 0.11 0.04
46. Massachusetts 0.10 0.02
47. Rhode Island 0.09 0.00
48. Oregon 0.07 0.04
49. Washington 0.03 0.05
50. California 0.02 0.02
51. Alaska 0.00 0.00
51. Hawaii 0.00 0.00
Source: National Severe Storms Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

2005 Hurricane Season Weather Lightning Deaths 1998-2007
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