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Lightning Facts & Figures
This page lists numerous lightning statistics related primarily to Florida: Click on the topic you are interested in or just scroll down the screen:
Deaths due to weather/weather related phenomena in Florida: 1959 - 1993 (from Storm Data)
Total number of people killed/injured by lightning in Florida between the years 1959 and 2007
Average number of people killed/injured by lightning in the United States in the years 1995 - 2004
Top 10 States with most lightning casualties
Lightning deaths per state (map)
Top 10 States with most lightning fatalities
Average number of people killed/injured in Florida
East Central Florida Lightning Casualty Statistics 1959 - 2007
Number of thunderstorm days in the central Florida area
Approximate number of lightning strikes in Brevard county, Florida per month
Deaths due to weather/weather related phenomena in Florida: 1959 - 1993 (from Storm Data)
|
Lightning
|
53.1%
|
|
Drowning
|
16.1%
|
|
Tornadoes
|
12.9%
|
|
Hurricanes
|
8.7%
|
|
Wind
|
4.2%
|
|
Cold
|
3.5%
|
|
Others
|
1.5%
|
Total number of lightning casualties in Florida between the years 1959 and 2007:
Average number of lightning casualties nationwide between the years 1995 and 2007:
Top 10 States with most lightning casualties (deaths + injuries), 1959 - 2004.
|
Rank
|
State
|
# Casualties (Deaths + Injuries)
|
|
1
|
Florida
|
2117
|
|
2
|
North Carolina
|
818
|
|
3
|
Michigan
|
815
|
|
4
|
Pennsylvania
|
760
|
|
5
|
New York
|
749
|
|
6
|
Texas
|
716
|
|
7
|
Ohio
|
671
|
|
8
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Colorado
|
602
|
|
9
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Georgia
|
586
|
|
10
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Tennessee
|
554
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From - Lightning fatalities, injuries and damage reports in the United States, 1959 - 1994, by B. Curran and R. Holle.Updated 1995 - 2004 by Matt Bragaw
Casualties (Deaths + Injuries) per state (click for full-sized)
From - Lightning fatalities, injuries and damage reports in the United States, 1959 - 1994, by B. Curran and R. Holle.
Updated 1995 - 2007 by Matt Bragaw
Top 10 States with most fatalities, 1959 - 2007.
|
Rank
|
State
|
Deaths
|
|
1
|
Florida
|
449
|
|
2
|
Texas
|
206
|
|
3
|
North Carolina
|
186
|
|
4
|
Ohio
|
141
|
|
5
|
Tennessee
|
140
|
|
6
|
New York
|
137
|
|
7
|
Louisiana
|
136
|
|
8
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Colorado
|
132
|
|
9
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Pennsylvania
|
126
|
|
10
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Maryland
|
124
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From - Lightning fatalities, injuries and damage reports in the United States, 1959 - 1994, by B. Curran and R. Holle.
Updated 1994 - 2007 by Matt Bragaw
Average number of people killed/injured in Florida between the years 1959 - 2007:
|
Average Killed
|
9
|
|
Average Injured
|
39
|
Based on the above numbers, the odds are about 1 in 5 that you will be killed if struck by lightning.
East Central Florida Lightning Casualty Statistics 1959 - 2007:
|
Lightning Statistics for east
central Florida 1959 - 2007
|
COUNTY
|
KILLED
|
INJURED
|
|
Brevard
|
25
|
80
|
|
Indian River
|
3
|
9
|
|
Lake
|
13
|
37
|
|
Martin
|
1
|
15
|
|
Okeechobee
|
0
|
7
|
|
Orange
|
16
|
76
|
|
Osceola
|
5
|
4
|
|
St. Lucie
|
7
|
15
|
|
Seminole
|
3
|
30
|
|
Volusia
|
11
|
44
|
|
Number of thunderstorm days in the central Florida area:
|
East coast (Melbourne/Vero Beach
|
70-80
|
|
Interior (Orlando)
|
80-90
|
|
West coast (Lakeland)
|
90-100
|
Approximate number of lightning strikes in Brevard county, Florida per month:
|
January
|
37
|
|
February
|
81
|
|
March
|
288
|
|
April
|
576
|
|
May
|
838
|
|
June
|
4398
|
|
July
|
5707
|
|
August
|
6676
|
|
September
|
2461
|
|
October
|
1100
|
|
November
|
31
|
|
December
|
3
|
The following table shows the days on which people were killed by lightning in the state of Florida. Not surprising, most people were killed in the months of May through September. What is quite surprising though, is a majority of people are killed on Wednesdays (as compared to other days). Also, the weekends did not show that much of a difference from the rest of the days in the week.
|
Day/
Month
|
SUN
|
MON
|
TUE
|
WED
|
THU
|
FRI
|
SAT
|
Totals
|
|
JAN
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
FEB
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
|
MAR
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
|
APR
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
|
MAY
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
9
|
5
|
1
|
4
|
29
|
|
JUN
|
9
|
11
|
13
|
10
|
9
|
7
|
11
|
70
|
|
JUL
|
15
|
11
|
13
|
22
|
10
|
12
|
10
|
93
|
|
AUG
|
12
|
16
|
10
|
24
|
14
|
2
|
16
|
94
|
|
SEP
|
11
|
5
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
34
|
|
OCT
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
5
|
|
NOV
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
DEC
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
|
Totals
|
52
|
47
|
44
|
71
|
45
|
26
|
51
|
336
|
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