Lightning on the rise: 2023 had more lightning strikes than 2022

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - On average, there were 252,000 lightning flashes per day across the country in 2023, or about 26 flashes per square mile.

The United States experienced more than 92 million lightning flashes in 2023 according to AEM, which releases an annual lightning report highlighting the number of lightning pulses and flashes recorded.

The lightning data for the 2023 report was captured by AME’s Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN). The network has more than 1,800 sensors around the globe providing very efficient coverage.

The number of lightning flashes in 2023 was up 6.6% compared to the prior year. For Tennessee alone, 1,985,567 lightning flashes made up nearly 2% of the total lightning flashes in the U.S. last year.

As far as the states with the most lightning, Florida continues to have the highest concentration of lightning activity in the country. Most of the states in the top 10 were from the Deep South or Great Plains.

Tennessee was not ranked in the top 10 for total lightning flash density, but did have a total flash density per square mile of 48.21.

Florida experienced 108.5 flashes per square mile which translates to over 5.8 million total lightning flashes.

The area with the highest lightning density in the U.S. was St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana which recorded 392 lightning flashes per square mile.

When it comes to thunder hours, the total hours worth of thunderstorms in a year, westernmost portions of Tennessee actually saw positive anomalies for thunder signifying more storms were observed in these areas compared to the climatological average.

Atmospheric rivers, in the early months of 2023, contributed to the positive thunder hour anomalies in the Western U.S.

Texas had the highest number of lightning strikes overall even though it did not have the highest lightning density (Florida did). The state recorded more than 13 million flashes.

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