The report documented almost 2.1 billion lightning occurrences globally in 2023.
According to a recent research from weather data supplier Vaisala, five metropolitan regions in Florida are considered to be highly vulnerable to lightning strikes.
Vaisala recently released its Annual Lightning Report for the year 2023. The study, currently in its seventh year, disclosed a cumulative count of over 242 million lightning occurrences occurring within clouds and between clouds and the ground in the continental United States in 2023. Additionally, there were over 2.1 billion lightning events recorded worldwide.
“In 2023, the United States experienced a record-breaking number of weather disasters with billion-dollar damages,” stated Samuli Hänninen, the director of Vaisala Xweather. Severe storms were responsible for 19 out of the 25 incidents that incurred losses surpassing $1 billion at the conclusion of the year. Severe weather has the potential to be highly dangerous, particularly in the absence of appropriate safety precautions.
“Lightning initiates wildfires, interrupts power supply, affects businesses, and presents a substantial threat to life and property,” he stated. Our 2023 annual lightning report specifically examines the hazards posed to both wind farms and metropolitan areas. Early warning systems incorporating advanced weather prediction and instantaneous lightning notifications play a crucial role in safeguarding individuals, enterprises, and infrastructure from the impacts of thunderstorms.
The report highlighted the following key findings:
Wind farms are highly susceptible to lightning damage: According to the data, there were a total of 77,494 instances of lightning strikes occurring at or in close proximity to 1,500 wind farms in the United States last year. Both the wind farm located in Texas and the one in Oklahoma experienced over 1,000 lightning hits apiece.
In Pushmataha, Oklahoma, a wind farm experienced an average of 14.4 lightning strikes per turbine in the past year. Similarly, in Freeborn County, Michigan, another wind farm had an average of 12 hits per turbine. Collectively, three wind farms had an average of almost 10 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes per turbine. Conversely, last year, a third of wind farms in the US experienced zero instances of lightning strikes.
The industry incurs an annual cost of over $100 million due to lightning damage, which contributes to 60% of blade losses and about 20% of overall operating losses.
Metropolitan areas with the highest incidence of lightning:
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Florida, had the highest frequency of lightning strikes among metropolitan areas in the United States last year, with a total of 120,998 cloud-to-ground strikes. This translates to an average of more than 35 strikes per square kilometre.
Houston, Texas experienced a total of 73,114 strikes, while Atlanta had 55,490 strikes. A total of 41,038 lightning strikes were observed in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. The New York-Jersey City-Newark metropolitan area on the East Coast recorded a total of 28,132 strikes.
Last year, five metropolitan regions in Florida were ranked highest for lightning risk based on the number of hits per square kilometre. The cities of Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Palm Bay-Melbourne, Cape Coral, Orlando, and Jacksonville.
The nation’s most towering structures serve as lightning magnets:
A total of 104 strikes occurred on ten of the most renowned skyscrapers in the United States in 2023. The Willis Tower in Chicago experienced 38 impacts. One World Trade Centre in New York experienced a total of 26 lightning strikes. 875 North Michigan Avenue (previously the John Hancock Centre) in Chicago ranked third, having experienced 15 strikes.
The frequency of lightning strikes in proximity to particular structures exhibits significant annual fluctuations. Chicago exhibits a greater average lightning density compared to New York City. However, in the last five years, One World Trade Centre has seen a much higher frequency of lightning strikes in comparison to the skyscrapers in Chicago.
The following cities are known as the lightning capitals of the United States:
Texas is first in terms of lightning strike frequency, recording a total of 42,388,860 strikes in 2023.
Florida ranks first in terms of lightning density, recording 112.6 lightning incidents per square kilometre.
What do you think about this story? Feel free to say something below.
