U.S Thunder Day Map

This U.S. 2020 Thunder Day Map shows us how many days with lightning each state had in 2020.  The number of Thunder Days is a good indicator of severe weather risks in each state.

We detected 441,211,344 total lightning pulses in the U.S. in 2020. Hover over each state to see the number of Thunder Days for each state or click on the state to read our 2020 Lightning Report for that state.


 

Now that you’ve seen the map, try to see if you can answer the following questions:

  • Which state saw the most cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in 2020?
  • Which state saw the least cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in 2020?
  • What part of the United States saw the most lightning in 2020? Why do you think that is? (Hint: The answers are in our 2020 U.S. Lightning Report!)
The Earth Networks Total Lightning Network detected 441,211,344 total lightning pulses in the U.S. in 2020. Find out your risk for severe weather with our Thunder Day Map: Share on X

About Our U.S. Lightning Map Data

animated lightning in a storm cloud

How do we detect lightning? Our Total Lightning Network™ is the first of its kind. With 1800+ sensors covering over 100 countries around the world, our network is the most extensive and technologically-advanced global lightning network. We used this network to build our U.S. lightning map.


Total Lightning = Cloud-to-Ground strikes + In-Cloud strikes


Our ability to monitor in-cloud lightning sets us apart from other lightning networks by enabling the most complete lightning alert system. Detecting in-cloud lightning enables us to generate faster, lightning alerts and warn of other forms of severe weather like tornadoes, downbursts and hail.

Head over to Lightning Detection 101 to learn how we locate strikes and how our network works.

Explore Our Latest Lightning Reports

Want to dive deeper into our lightning data? You can click on the lightning reports below for the United States.