Increase in Lightning Strikes Reported for 2022

Posted: January 10, 2023 9:58 am

The final tally is in and 2022 saw more lightning bolts than any other year since 2019. The results came in from environmental measurements company Vaisala Xweather, demonstrating lightning trends across the nation. The data includes the number of lightning bolts recorded in each individual state. Here is what the report detailed about lightning trends across the U.S. this past year.

Diving Into the Data

According to Vaisala Xweather, there were 198,227,289 lightning events throughout the country in 2022. This number represents what experts call a return to normal after 2020 and 2021 saw below average numbers. Conversely, 2019 recorded approximately 223 million strikes.

Leading the nation in lightning strikes was Texas with Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Mississippi rounding out the top five. This list is virtually the same as the 2021 top five with the exception of Mississippi edging out Kansas for the last spot. Texas hung on to its top ranking, however, the Lone Star State recorded 14 million fewer lightning events when compared to the previous year with 27.7 million in 2022 compared to 41.9 million in 2021.

While Texas is distinguished as being the lightning capital for states, the overall winner would be Four Corners, Florida, located about 20 miles southwest of Orlando. The small community is also about five miles from Disney World, one of the nation’s top tourist attractions. Four Corners took the top spot from Flatonia, Texas.

Not surprisingly, there were also more lives lost at the hands of lightning strikes this year, corresponding to the higher number of bolts. There were 19 lightning related fatalities in 2022.

One of the most prolific lightning strike events happened on August 4 when four tourists were struck in Washington, D.C., killing three and leaving one person injured. Emergency responders responded to a call in Lafayette Park, located just across the street from the White House. Officials said that the four people that were struck were standing near a large tree during a downpour.

Major Weather Events Responsible for High Number of Strikes

Also notable is that Hurricane Ian was responsible for a great number of lightning events. According to Vaisala Xweather, there were over 34,000 strikes attributed to the hurricane that roared onshore along Florida’s Gulf Coast on September 28. The bulk of the strikes occurred within the hurricane’s eyewall. During the peak of the storm, trackers were recording lightning strikes every three seconds in this part of the hurricane.

Another notable event that ushered in a significant amount of lightning strikes happened early in the year when the Tonga volcano erupted on January 15. Located in the Pacific Ocean, this volcanic eruption carried such a force that it ignited a shockwave that traveled around the world twice.

This wave triggered a host of weather events, including lightning strikes. Almost 400,000 lightning strikes were recorded in a period of just six hours. Of these strikes, a whopping 25,500 were detected in five minutes, average to about 85 bolts every second.

Scientists credit this cataclysmic eruption for boosting the number of lightning strikes around the world in 2022. The eruption also influenced the weather in areas all over Earth as it sent water vapor flying into the stratosphere.

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