A Central Florida suburb is named the lightning capital of the U.S. (2024)

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A Central Florida suburb is named the lightning capital of the U.S.? ›

Four Corners is an unincorporated community just west of Walt Disney World spanning portions of Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Polk Counties. The suburb takes the crown from Flatonia, Texas, as lightning capital of the United States.

After Four Corners, Florida–in the Kissimmee area–was crowned the lightning capital of the United States in 2022, the most frequently struck place moved a little south in 2023.

Florida is the lightning capital of the United States, averaging up to 100 thunderstorm days per year in some areas of the state. Specifically, Jacksonville can expect about 68 thunderstorm days per year. In Florida on average, lightning kills ten and injures 40 people per year.

In fact, Florida made the top five spots on the ranking, with Palm Bay-Melbourne, Cape Coral, Orlando and Jacksonville making the list. Additionally, Tampa-St. Petersburg and Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice were also considered among the top 20.

Florida is the lightning capital of the country, mainly due to our geography. The very elements that make our state a great place for outdoor activities -- warm temperatures and plenty of water -- also make the environment primed for the production of thunderstorms, which generate lightning.

In 2023, the state with the most number of lightning strikes recorded across the United States was Texas, with nearly 42.4 million lightning events. Texas always has a higher lightning count than any other state, partly due to its size and location.

Wide temperature variation is necessary for a good thunderstorm to get going. In fact, the answer might surprise you. With an annual average of 89 thunderstorms, Fort Myers, Florida, is the thunderstorm capital of the U.S. And that's not some climatic anomaly, either.

Desert Center, California city considered the state's 'lightning capital'

“Though the Tampa Bay area is sometimes referred to as the “Lightning Capital of the World”, it is more accurately called the “Lightning Capital of North America” if measured by average number of days with thunderstorm activity per year.

What state has the worst lightning? ›

In the United States, Florida has electric weather that is unmatched by any other state. Of course, its neighbors in Dixie Alley are no strangers to rolling thunder and lightning strikes, either — nearly all of the five most lightning-prone states are in the Southeast.

The phenomenon is characterized by almost continuous lightning, mostly within the clouds, which is produced in a large vertical development of clouds. The Lake Maracaibo Basin in North Western Venezuela has the highest annual lightning rate of any place in the world.

Most lightning-prone metropolitan areas: With 120,998 cloud-to-ground lightning strokes – more than 35 per square kilometer – Miami–Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was the most lightning-prone metropolitan area in the United States in 2023.

July is the month for Lightning over the state of Florida! The combination of warm coastal waters and near maximum insolation allows for both sea breezes to become well developed over the peninsula. The maximum over the central part of the peninsula is due to the location of the subtropical ridge axis over the region.

Lightning occurs with every thunderstorm and, on average, Florida sees around 70-100 days a year with at least one thunderstorm in the state. Because of Florida's vulnerability to thunderstorms and lightning, lightning is one of the most deadly weather hazards in the Sunshine State.

In particular, Florida takes the trophy for most thunderstorms in the U.S., on average, with parts of Florida experiencing thunderstorms more than 100 days per year, on average.

“Though the Tampa Bay area is sometimes referred to as the “Lightning Capital of the World”, it is more accurately called the “Lightning Capital of North America” if measured by average number of days with thunderstorm activity per year.

The lightning capitals of the United States:

When measured by frequency of strikes, Texas tops the list, with 42,388,860 lightning strikes in 2023. However, when measuring by lightning density, Florida takes the number-one slot, with 112.6 lightning events per square kilometer.

Because Florida is a peninsula. During the day, the land heats up much more quickly than the ocean. Warm air over land is less dense than the relatively cool air over the ocean. This allows the cooler, denser air over the ocean to push inland; the air mass coming off the coast is called the sea breeze.

South America

Lake Maracaibo is the region with the most lightning in the world, with 233 lightning strikes per km2 per year.