Florida has officially been dethroned as the lightning capital of the United States. AEM, with the help of its 1,800 sensor lightning detection network, announced that Oklahoma had the highest concentration of lightning in 2025. Oklahoma experienced approximately 73 lightning flashes per square mile last year, signaling a broader surge in lightning activity across the Great Plains.

Florida had a drier than average year, likely driven in part by most Atlantic hurricanes staying out to sea. Fewer storms hitting the area resulted in fewer lightning flashes. Although Florida lost its long standing title, it still led in lightning fatalities with four deaths out of the 21 nationwide.

AEM’s lightning sensors detected 429.9 million lightning pulses across the U.S., with 88.4 million total lightning flashes. Year over year, that is a 9.8% increase in total lightning flashes. Kent County, Oklahoma was the most lightning-dense county in the U.S. in 2025 with 123.4 flashes per square mile.

Texas held the top spot for storm intensity last year with 9,103 Dangerous Storm Alerts – twice as many as the next highest state. The Great Plains states accounted for half of the top 10 states with the most Dangerous Storm Alerts. Texas also had the biggest surge of lightning at 1.3 million flashes above average, with a total of more than 13 million lightning flashes.

Across multiple states, lightning peaked on days that coincided with billion-dollar disasters. The most lightning-intense day was June 15, 2025 with 929,016 flashes.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest airport, recorded more than 10,000 lightning flashes. Eight of the 10 busiest U.S. airports experienced their peak lightning day during the height of summer travel season.

Half of the nation’s most-visited landmarks experienced their peak lightning between June and August, when visitor traffic is highest. Chicago’s Millennium Park recorded more than 11,000 lightning flashes, more than any other top-visited U.S. landmark.