Guide Rankings Geography Updated July 4, 2026

Lightning by State

Lightning storm over a highway representing state lightning risk

Lightning by State

Ranking - Geography

Quick Answer

Lightning by State

  1. 1

    Florida has the highest lightning density by state at 244.1 counts per square mile. Oklahoma ranks second at 213.8, and Louisiana ranks third at 210.7.

  2. 2

    Texas records the most average total lightning per year at 41,083,472, but Florida ranks higher on density because Texas covers far more land.

  3. 3

    Washington is lowest in the lower 48 at 2.1 counts per square mile. Alaska is lowest overall at 0.3.

Map

Lightning Density by State Map

per sq. mile
No data
Florida leads at 244.1 lightning counts per square mile, ahead of Oklahoma at 213.8 and Louisiana at 210.7. Alaska is lowest at 0.3, and Washington is lowest in the lower 48 at 2.1.
Lightning Density by State Map
Rank State per sq. mile
1 Florida 244.1
2 Oklahoma 213.8
3 Louisiana 210.7
4 Missouri 158.2
5 Texas 154.9
6 Mississippi 148.1
7 Arkansas 145.6
8 Kansas 132.5
9 Illinois 130.2
10 Kentucky 126.3
11 Tennessee 117.7
12 Alabama 110.7
13 Georgia 105.1
14 South Carolina 100.1
15 Iowa 95.7
16 Indiana 91.8
17 Nebraska 91.7
18 Maryland 82.4
19 Delaware 79.8
20 North Carolina 77
21 Virginia 69.4
22 South Dakota 68.2
23 Ohio 65
24 West Virginia 49.5
25 New Mexico 47.7
26 North Dakota 45.7
27 Minnesota 41.7
28 Pennsylvania 37.7
29 New Jersey 36.7
30 Colorado 34.8
31 Wisconsin 34.4
32 Michigan 28.9
33 Arizona 28.2
34 Wyoming 27
35 Montana 22.4
36 New York 18
37 Connecticut 15.3
38 Utah 12.3
39 Rhode Island 9.8
40 Massachusetts 9
41 Vermont 9
42 New Hampshire 7.9
43 Nevada 7.4
44 Idaho 6.4
45 Maine 4.3
46 California 3.6
47 Hawaii 3.2
48 Oregon 3.1
49 Washington 2.1
50 Alaska 0.3

Florida leads at 244.1 lightning counts per square mile, ahead of Oklahoma at 213.8 and Louisiana at 210.7. Alaska is lowest at 0.3, and Washington is lowest in the lower 48 at 2.1.

Lightning by State Table

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Print-ready table — Lightning by State

States With the Highest and Lowest Lightning Density

Highest

244.1
Florida flag
Florida #1

Lowest

0.3
Alaska flag
Alaska #50

Top 10 Highest — Lightning per Sq. Mile

#1 Florida flag Florida
244.1
#2 Oklahoma flag Oklahoma
213.8
#3 Louisiana flag Louisiana
210.7
#4 Missouri flag Missouri
158.2
#5 Texas flag Texas
154.9
#6 Mississippi flag Mississippi
148.1
#7 Arkansas flag Arkansas
145.6
#8 Kansas flag Kansas
132.5
#9 Illinois flag Illinois
130.2
#10 Kentucky flag Kentucky
126.3

Top 10 Lowest — Lightning per Sq. Mile

#50 Alaska flag Alaska
0.3
#49 Washington flag Washington
2.1
#48 Oregon flag Oregon
3.1
#47 Hawaii flag Hawaii
3.2
#46 California flag California
3.6
#45 Maine flag Maine
4.3
#44 Idaho flag Idaho
6.4
#43 Nevada flag Nevada
7.4
#42 New Hampshire flag New Hampshire
7.9
#41 Vermont flag Vermont
9.0

States With the Most Lightning

Intense thunderstorm representing states with the most lightning
Florida leads at 244.1 lightning counts per square mile. Oklahoma is next at 213.8, and Louisiana is at 210.7.

Florida ranks first at 244.1 lightning counts per square mile. Oklahoma follows at 213.8, and Louisiana is close behind at 210.7.

Texas records the largest average total at 41,083,472 lightning counts per year. Florida still ranks higher on density because its land area is much smaller than Texas.

States With the Least Lightning

Quiet cloudy landscape representing states with the least lightning
Alaska is lowest at 0.3 lightning counts per square mile. Washington is next at 2.1, and Oregon is at 3.1.

Alaska ranks last at 0.3 lightning counts per square mile. Washington is next at 2.1, followed by Oregon at 3.1 and Hawaii at 3.2.

California also sits near the bottom at 3.6 lightning counts per square mile. Maine is the lowest state in the Northeast at 4.3.

Lightning Density vs Total Count

Lightning over a wide landscape representing the difference between density and total count
Texas leads average annual total lightning at 41,083,472. Florida is second on total counts at 13,989,300 but first on density at 244.1.

Texas leads the country in average total lightning per year with 41,083,472. Florida ranks second on total counts at 13,989,300 but first on density at 244.1.

Kansas shows the same split on a smaller scale. It ranks eighth on density at 132.5, while Nebraska ranks seventeenth at 91.7 even though both states post more than 7 million average annual lightning counts.

Quick Answers

Which state has the most lightning?
Texas has the most average total lightning per year at 41,083,472. Florida ranks second on total counts at 13,989,300.
Which state has the highest lightning density?
Florida has the highest lightning density at 244.1 counts per square mile. Oklahoma is second at 213.8, and Louisiana is third at 210.7.
What is the lightning density in Florida?
Florida records 244.1 lightning counts per square mile. Its 2019 total was 13,049,687, and its 2015 to 2019 annual average was 13,989,300.
What is the lightning density in Texas?
Texas records 154.9 lightning counts per square mile. That is lower than Florida's 244.1, even though Texas leads the country in average annual lightning counts at 41,083,472.
Which state has the least lightning?
Alaska has the lowest lightning density at 0.3 counts per square mile. Washington is lowest in the contiguous United States at 2.1.
What is the lightning density in California?
California records 3.6 lightning counts per square mile. Its average annual total is 573,698, which places it far below Texas at 41,083,472 and Florida at 13,989,300.

Methodology

Rankings use Vaisala lightning density data updated in May 2020. The main metric is average annual lightning counts per square mile from 2015 to 2019, with contiguous U.S. data from NLDN and Alaska and Hawaii from GLD360.

Sources

Information is cross-referenced with official state archives.
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