Lightning activity surged to an eight-year high in 2025, according to Vaisala Xweather’s Annual Lightning Report.
2025 saw 252 million lightning strikes, a 20 percent increase from 2024. Capturing more than 99 percent of thunderstorms worldwide, the network detected more than 2 billion global lightning events.
2025’s most active lightning day occurred on April 5, weeks ahead of the typical May-September season. In the contiguous U.S., 157 severe storms, including 21 tornadoes in the Southeast, produced more than 3 million lightning events on April 5, surpassing the annual totals of the 14 least lightning-prone states combined.
“While there is no single weather causation for this lightning spike, the event reaffirms a need for increased measures to counteract the adverse effects of lightning,” said Ryan Said, Senior Scientist at Vaisala Xweather. “Improved lightning detection has helped decrease lightning-related deaths by almost two-thirds in the U.S.”
Shady Grove, Oklahoma, became 2025’s lightning capital with 3,005 lightning events per square mile. This marks the first time in four years that a lightning capital was named outside Texas or Florida.
Texas topped the nation’s lightning count in 2025 with 47 million lightning events, thanks largely to the sheer size of the state. When the numbers are adjusted for area, however, Texas drops out of the top five most lightning-dense states.
By lightning density, Florida takes the lead with 305 lightning events per square mile.
Lightning remains the leading cause of wind-turbine blade damage, costing the industry more than $100 million annually. Analysis of 68,000 turbines found nearly one third of U.S. wind turbines were struck by lightning in 2025. One Kansas wind farm recorded 3,235 strikes over 10 years, averaging 1.2 strikes per turbine annually.
Monitoring lightning and severe weather is crucial for keeping infrastructure operational. Vaisala Xweather’s real-time alerts keep communities safe and advanced lightning data helps customers identify the strikes most likely to cause damage to their organization’s assets. This accuracy allows for targeted inspections and repairs rather than costly, facility-wide shutdowns.
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