2024 Lightning Report: What You Need to Know About This Year’s Wild Weather
If you thought 2024 was a stormy year, you’re not wrong. A new report from Earth Networks' Total Lightning Network (ENTLN) reveals some eye-opening details about lightning activity across the U.S. last year. Using data from over 1,800 sensors around the world, the report shows where lightning struck most, how it’s changing, and why it matters for everything from your summer golf game to airport safety. Spoiler alert: Florida and Texas are still lightning hotspots, but the Midwest stole the show with some shocking surprises.
First, let’s talk numbers. In 2024, the U.S. experienced over 80 million lightning flashes with about 21 million of those hitting the ground. That’s a lot of electricity in the sky! But here’s the twist: while the overall number of lightning flashes dropped by 12% compared to 2023, some areas saw huge spikes. Rhode Island, for example, had a whopping 53% increase in lightning activity. Meanwhile, the Midwest, especially Illinois and Iowa, had a record-breaking year for storms, thanks to a series of severe weather outbreaks, including a massive tornado event in mid-July that spawned 49 tornadoes across several states.
So, how do we track all this lightning? The ENTLN system uses sensors that detect lightning pulses and send the data to central servers. These sensors can tell the difference between lightning that stays in the clouds (in-cloud lightning) and lightning that hits the ground (cloud-to-ground lightning). Why does that matter? Well, ground strikes are the ones that can start fires, knock out power, or even injure people. The system recently got a high-tech upgrade using neural networks to make its lightning detection even more accurate. This helps everyone from pilots to construction workers stay safer during storms.
One of the coolest parts of the report is how this data is being used in real life. Airports, for example, rely on lightning alerts to keep travelers and staff safe. In 2024, Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport recorded over 43,000 lightning flashes nearby—a staggering number that reflects the city’s unusually stormy year. Golf courses and wind farms are also using this data to protect people and equipment. A wind farm in West Central Texas, for instance, detected nearly 47,000 lightning flashes in its vicinity last year. Researchers are even studying how wind turbines might be affecting lightning patterns, with early findings suggesting turbines could be attracting more strikes, especially in the winter.
The report also highlights how lightning data is helping predict severe weather. ENTLN’s Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts (DTAs) use lightning rates to warn areas at risk for hail, tornadoes, and other dangerous conditions. In 2024, the Midwest and Tornado Alley had the highest concentrations of these alerts, reflecting the region’s intense storm activity. The report also introduced a new metric called “thunder hours,” which tracks how often thunderstorms occur in a specific area. This data showed that the Midwest and Northeast had more thunderstorms than usual, while parts of the Southwest had fewer due to a weak monsoon season.
As climate change continues to shake up weather patterns, understanding lightning is more important than ever. Whether it’s keeping planes on schedule, protecting wind farms, or just helping you decide when to head indoors during a storm, the ENTLN’s lightning data is making a big difference. And with even more upgrades on the way, the future of storm tracking looks brighter and safer than ever.
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Source: AEM Lightning Seminar
Image by Claudia Hinz from Pixabay
