Lightning

Hazard in Severe Weather

A frequent, localized hazard to people outdoors, electrical systems and dry fuels, where a single strike can start a fire.

Plans also call it: lightning strike

Talk to us about LightningAll 73 hazards →

What you’d hand your council

The first page of a Lightning evidence brief: likelihood, impact and readiness on your own scale, every figure sourced.

Evidence brief for Cedar Ridge County (example)

September 14, 2026

Lightning

Hazard in Severe Weather, on the established threats & hazards list

Impact
5432112345

Likelihood

Likelihood
3

Possible — Expected occasionally — roughly once in 10 to 50 years (2–10% chance in any year).

Impact
3

Moderate — Notable effects — injuries possible, damage in multiple areas, essential services disrupted for days.

Readiness
4

High — The organization has a well-developed capability to manage this threat or hazard. Plans, personnel, resources, and skills are largely in place, and the capability has been meaningfully tested or demonstrated. Remaining gaps are unlikely to significantly impair performance.

  • 2source documents
  • 58verified mentions
  • —federal declarations
  • 91.6NRI score, relatively high
Worked example: Cedar Ridge County is fictional. The scores illustrate the format and are nobody's decision. Open a full sample brief →

The national record

FEMA National Risk Index: Lightning

$1.6B
expected loss a year, nationally
570
counties rated high or very high

Your county’s own rating is the first thing we pull.

How it maps

The same hazard in the vocabularies your plan and FEMA already use.

FEMA National Risk Index
Lightning (LTNG)one of the 18 hazards NRI scores per county
FEMA declaration incident type
Not covered
NOAA Storm Events type
Lightning
Hazzard category
Severe Weather, natural hazards

The national record

What the federal data says about Lightning

The same national sources a Hazzard brief starts from. For your jurisdiction we narrow each one to your county and its neighbors.

Where Lightning is rated high

Share of each state's counties FEMA rates Relatively High or Very High

Alabama: 27 of 67 counties rated high (40%) · $51M expected loss a yearAlaska: 0 of 30 counties rated high (0%) · $1M expected loss a yearArizona: 12 of 15 counties rated high (80%) · $29M expected loss a yearArkansas: 14 of 75 counties rated high (19%) · $30M expected loss a yearCalifornia: 10 of 58 counties rated high (17%) · $26M expected loss a yearColorado: 24 of 64 counties rated high (38%) · $85M expected loss a yearConnecticut: 3 of 9 counties rated high (33%) · $7M expected loss a yearDelaware: 1 of 3 counties rated high (33%) · $2M expected loss a yearDistrict of Columbia: 1 of 1 counties rated high (100%) · $2M expected loss a yearFlorida: 47 of 67 counties rated high (70%) · $162M expected loss a yearGeorgia: 22 of 159 counties rated high (14%) · $72M expected loss a yearHawaii: 4 of 5 counties rated high (80%) · $17M expected loss a yearIdaho: 4 of 44 counties rated high (9%) · $13M expected loss a yearIllinois: 12 of 102 counties rated high (12%) · $37M expected loss a yearIndiana: 4 of 92 counties rated high (4%) · $25M expected loss a yearIowa: 2 of 99 counties rated high (2%) · $17M expected loss a yearKansas: 6 of 105 counties rated high (6%) · $29M expected loss a yearKentucky: 7 of 120 counties rated high (6%) · $34M expected loss a yearLouisiana: 27 of 64 counties rated high (42%) · $49M expected loss a yearMaine: 5 of 16 counties rated high (31%) · $11M expected loss a yearMaryland: 7 of 24 counties rated high (29%) · $22M expected loss a yearMassachusetts: 7 of 14 counties rated high (50%) · $15M expected loss a yearMichigan: 8 of 83 counties rated high (10%) · $29M expected loss a yearMinnesota: 7 of 87 counties rated high (8%) · $25M expected loss a yearMississippi: 15 of 82 counties rated high (18%) · $31M expected loss a yearMissouri: 11 of 115 counties rated high (10%) · $43M expected loss a yearMontana: 3 of 56 counties rated high (5%) · $15M expected loss a yearNebraska: 3 of 93 counties rated high (3%) · $18M expected loss a yearNevada: 3 of 17 counties rated high (18%) · $4M expected loss a yearNew Hampshire: 3 of 10 counties rated high (30%) · $10M expected loss a yearNew Jersey: 13 of 21 counties rated high (62%) · $31M expected loss a yearNew Mexico: 17 of 33 counties rated high (52%) · $21M expected loss a yearNew York: 20 of 62 counties rated high (32%) · $43M expected loss a yearNorth Carolina: 30 of 100 counties rated high (30%) · $59M expected loss a yearNorth Dakota: 0 of 53 counties rated high (0%) · $3M expected loss a yearOhio: 17 of 88 counties rated high (19%) · $48M expected loss a yearOklahoma: 8 of 77 counties rated high (10%) · $17M expected loss a yearOregon: 5 of 36 counties rated high (14%) · $11M expected loss a yearPennsylvania: 31 of 67 counties rated high (46%) · $55M expected loss a yearRhode Island: 1 of 5 counties rated high (20%) · $3M expected loss a yearSouth Carolina: 20 of 46 counties rated high (43%) · $36M expected loss a yearSouth Dakota: 2 of 66 counties rated high (3%) · $6M expected loss a yearTennessee: 19 of 95 counties rated high (20%) · $44M expected loss a yearTexas: 46 of 254 counties rated high (18%) · $128M expected loss a yearUtah: 12 of 29 counties rated high (41%) · $39M expected loss a yearVermont: 1 of 14 counties rated high (7%) · $6M expected loss a yearVirginia: 8 of 133 counties rated high (6%) · $41M expected loss a yearWashington: 3 of 39 counties rated high (8%) · $10M expected loss a yearWest Virginia: 2 of 55 counties rated high (4%) · $13M expected loss a yearWisconsin: 10 of 72 counties rated high (14%) · $37M expected loss a yearWyoming: 6 of 23 counties rated high (26%) · $13M expected loss a year
  • None
  • Up to 10%
  • 10–25%
  • 25–50%
  • Over 50%
  • Not rated
FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0, county table

In your plan

What a Lightning profile needs, and where each part comes from

A local hazard mitigation plan profiles each hazard the same way (44 CFR 201.6). Here is how Hazzard fills each part for Lightning.

  1. Location

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    National data

    FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lightning for every county. We place yours against its neighbors and the state, then add what your plans map in more detail.

  2. Extent

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    Your documents

    The magnitude your plans use for Lightning (a scale, a depth, an acreage, a duration), read from your documents and cited, so the profile states the strength you plan for.

  3. Previous occurrences

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    Your documents

    FEMA files no declaration type for Lightning. The history comes from your after-action reports, incident records and plans.

  4. Probability of future events

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(i)

    National data

    NRI's annualized frequency for your county, and the declaration history, drafted into a likelihood on your own scale for your team to accept or change.

  5. Vulnerability and impacts

    44 CFR 201.6(c)(2)(ii)

    National data

    NRI's expected annual loss and social vulnerability for your county, the Census population profile and HHS emPOWER counts, with the impacts your plans already describe.

  6. The assessment itself

    Your team decides

    Likelihood, impact and readiness for Lightning are drafted with every source attached, and a person on your team accepts each one. Hazzard never records a score on its own.

How we can help

How we’d help you prepare for Lightning

  1. 1

    We pull your county's record

    FEMA's National Risk Index rating and expected loss, every disaster declaration, and the daily temperature record behind heat and cold, before we meet.

  2. 2

    We read the plans you already have

    Your hazard mitigation plan and EOP annexes, so you can see what they say about Lightning and where the profile stops short.

  3. 3

    You leave with a cited brief

    Likelihood, impact and readiness for Lightning on your own scale, every figure tied to its source, ready for the planning team or the council.

Also in Severe Weather

Preparing for Lightning

Walk into your next plan update with Lightning already sourced.

Severe weather is the part of a plan everyone assumes is covered. We check whether yours says why, with your county's own record instead of a regional average. A person replies within one business day.

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