How Many People Die By Lightning Each Year In North Dakota?

I'm pretty much known as a weather nerd at the radio station by my co-workers.

I'm pretty sure I missed my calling as a meteorologist somewhere along the way. Growing up, I was always fascinated by the weather, and especially storms. Whether they were winter blizzards or summer thunderstorms, it really didn't matter.

Speaking of lightning, what a show we had in the sky last Saturday night in the Capital Region.

Severe thunderstorms were all around us, but I know that where I live, south of Lincoln, we didn't even get a drop of rain. However, the cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning display was mesmerizing.

We all know how dangerous lightning can be, but how many North Dakotans actually die from it every year?

I was watching the Weather Channel meteorologists talking about this very topic recently (insert weather nerd comment). They showed which states have had the most lightning deaths over the last 10 years.

North Dakota isn't even in the conversation.

According to data from NOAA/National Weather Service from 2015 to 2024, only ONE person has died from a lightning strike in North Dakota. That's right, only 1 person in 10 years. I sure would've thought that number would be higher.

Our neighboring states have similar stats.

Montana has also had only one death from lightning strikes, and the same is true for South Dakota. Minnesota has had zero.

Which states have had the most lightning deaths over the last 10 years?

1. Florida - 50

2. Texas - 20

3. Alabama - 15

4. North Carolina - 11

5. Colorado - 8

Far fewer deaths than I would've guessed for sure. With that being said, it's been one of our most stormy summers we've had in a long time, with more storms in the forecast over the next week. Don't become a lightning statistic.