A Popular Vacation State Gets The Most Lightning Strikes Of Anywhere In America And It's Not Even Close

While your chances of being struck by lightning in the U.S. are less than one in a million, your chances go up significantly if you are vacationing in one particular state: Texas.

That's right, the Lone Star State was the state most struck by lightning in 2024, and it's not even close. According to data from Vaisala X Weather, Texas had 40.4 million lightning events in 2024, which was more than the next three states combined. After Texas, Florida had 15.5 million events, Oklahoma had 13.6 million, and Kansas had almost 11 million. However, Florida was the top state by lightning density, with 91 events per square kilometer, while Texas only had 58 per square kilometer. It's no wonder that Siesta Beach is one of Florida's most dangerous, as fatal lightning strikes have occurred on its shores.

Within Texas, a small town that's just 5 square miles and home to 3,000 people saw the most strikes. Teague had a count of 735 lightning strikes in 2024, and Walker County, located just north of Houston, was the most struck county by density, with 318 lightning events per square kilometer.

Texas was the most struck state in 2024 for a number of environmental reasons. First, Texas is the second biggest state; therefore, it has more land that can be struck than smaller states. This could add to the overall number of lightning strikes due to it just covering more land.

Also, there was an increase in the number of thunderstorms in Texas during the spring. Thunderstorms require humidity, instability, and rising warm air. Due to climate change (which is slowly destroying iconic destinations), scientists predict that lightning strikes will continue to increase as the Earth gets warmer. Most lightning happens in the summer months, which also correlates with lightning deaths. More than 70% of lightning deaths happen in June, July, and August (via USA Today).

The good news is that if you are struck by lightning, your odds of surviving are fairly high. The number of deaths related to lightning has been declining since 2006, and almost 90% of those struck by lightning survive, according to the Centers for Disease Control. You also shouldn't worry about your plane being struck by lightning because they are engineered to handle it.