24 August 2016
30 Deaths from Lightning in the U.S. So Far This Year. 12 From Tornadoes
Posted by Dan Satterfield

NOAA Image
Meteorologist John Jensenius at NOAA keeps track of the deaths from lightning each year, and I asked him to send me a list of the deaths each month, so that I could share. We are now up to 30, and it is worth noting that 80% of the deaths are male and 20% female, a fact that is not unusual, with far more males rather than females becoming victims each year.
From John:
A second victim from the August 12 lightning strike in Poughkeepsie NY has now died from his injuries. A 46-year-old man died this morning. He had been under a tree on or near a park bench when lightning struck the tree. Based on the date of the incident, the fatality has been inserted in the list as #27.
This is the 30th lightning death of the year, the most since 2009 when the yearly total was 34. Based on the past 10 years, the average through August 23rd is 26. In addition, this is the 9th lightning fatality for the month of August, the most for August since 2007 when there were 9 fatalities in the month.
I will also point out that the two deaths each in two separate incidents in New York State within two days (between August 10 and 12) is highly unusual.
Based on known information for lightning fatalities through 8/23/2016
John Jensenius
2016 Lightning Fatalities |
|||||||||
Number |
Date |
D of W |
State |
City |
Age |
Sex |
Location |
Activity |
Victim |
1 |
3/18/2016 |
Friday | LA | Larose |
28 |
F | In tent | Attending music festival | Jacqui Stavis |
2 |
3/25/2016 |
Friday | FL | Hobe Sound |
41 |
M | Grassy field | Family picnic | Farooq Mohammad |
3 |
4/15/2016 |
Friday | FL | Boynton Beach |
23 |
M | Under tree | Working in yard | Bechelet Joseph |
4 |
4/27/2016 |
Wednesday | MS | Mantachie |
37 |
M | Outside barn | Riding horse | Tim Edge |
5 |
4/27/2016 |
Wednesday | LA | Slidell |
36 |
M | Construction site | Working | Elvin Arturo Castro-Santiago |
6 |
6/13/2016 |
Monday | FL | Manatee County |
47 |
M | Farm | Loading truck | Fleuridor Kercizan |
7 |
6/24/2016 |
Friday | FL | Daytona Beach |
33 |
F | Beach | Standing in water | Janika Gardner |
8 |
6/25/2016 |
Saturday | MO | Festus |
72 |
M | Yard | Standing with dog | Daniel Kennedy |
9 |
6/27/2016 |
Monday | MS | Lumberton |
24 |
M | Yard | Standing with friend | Thomas Whorton, III |
10 |
7/10/2016 |
Sunday | LA | Pineville |
45 |
M | Parking lot | Walking to car | Scotty Rosier |
11 |
7/14/2016 |
Thursday | TN | Dover |
64 |
F | Under tree | Camping | Franceen Crowl |
12 |
7/14/2016 |
Thursday | LA | Baton Rouge |
70 |
M | Sheltering under tree | Roofing | Jose Humberto Vasconcelos |
13 |
7/14/2016 |
Thursday | AL | Redstone Arsenal |
19 |
M | Outside building | Outdoor Maintenance | Jacob York |
14 |
7/14/2016 |
Thursday | VA | Bedford County |
23 |
M | Along roadway | Walking | Robert Miller |
15 |
7/16/2016 |
Saturday | NC | Yancey County |
54 |
M | Putting on rain gear | Riding Motorcycle | Scott Pasour |
16 |
7/19/2016 |
Tuesday | CO | Arvada |
23 |
M | Sheltering under tree | Golfing | Peter Hawkes |
17 |
7/19/2016 |
Tuesday | AL | Lawrence County |
20 |
M | In yard | Watching storm | Hunter Blankenship |
18 |
7/20/2016 |
Wednesday | AZ | Coconino County |
17 |
M | Near mountain top | Hiking | Wade Young |
19 |
7/22/2016 |
Friday | UT | Flaming Gorge Reservoir |
14 |
F | On reservoir | Riding jetski | Brooklyn Reynolds |
20 |
7/25/2016 |
Monday | FL | Bonita Springs |
29 |
M | Lanai (6th floor) | Construction | Salomon Garcia-Martinez |
21 |
7/31/2016 |
Sunday | NC | Currituck County |
5 |
M | Beach | Headed to vehicle | Stephen Little |
22 |
8/5/2016 |
Friday | FL | Okaloosa Island |
22 |
M | Beach | Attending umbellas | Zachary Fordem |
23 |
8/10/2016 |
Wednesday | NY | Batavia |
34 |
M | Cemetery | Richard Garlock | |
24 |
8/10/2016 |
Wednesday | NY | Batavia |
32 |
F | Cemetery | Jenea Macleod | |
25 |
8/10/2016 |
Wednesday | OH | Coshocton |
9 |
M | Outside home | Bringing in horses | Noah Stutzman |
26 |
8/12/2016 |
Friday | NY | Poughkeepsie |
50 |
M | In park under tree | Sheltering from storm | |
27 |
8/12/2016 |
Friday | NY | Poughkeepsie |
46 |
M | In park under tree | Sheltering from storm | Franklyn Mekeel |
28 |
8/13/2016 |
Saturday | PA | Carbon County |
39 |
M | Lake at State Park | Swimming | Jose Lopez-Hernandez |
29 |
8/19/2016 |
Friday | CO | Larimer County |
45 |
M | Outside cabin under tree | Standing | Chad Trover |
30 |
8/19/2016 |
Friday | MI | Presque Isle |
21 |
F | Near beach house | Life guarding | Alyson Knenlein |
2016 Lightning Fatality Demographics
—————————————————————————–
By State
So far in 2016, there have been 30 lightning fatalities in the U.S., with 6 in Florida, 4 in Louisiana and New York, and 2 each in Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, and Colorado. Deaths have now occurred in 16 different states thus far this year.
FL – 6
LA – 4
NY – 4
MS – 2
AL – 2
NC – 2
CO – 2
MO – 1
TN – 1
CO – 1
AZ – 1
UT – 1
VA – 1
OH – 1
PA – 1
MI – 1
———-
By Gender
Male – 24 ( 80%)
Female – 6 ( 20%)
———-
By Age Category
0- 9 – 2 ( 7%)
10-19 – 4 ( 13%)
20-29 – 9 ( 30%)
30-39 – 5 ( 17%)
40-49 – 5 ( 17%)
50-59 – 2 ( 7%)
60-69 – 1 ( 3%)
70-79 – 2 ( 7%)
80-89 – 0 ( 0%)
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
By Day Of Week
Sun – 2 ( 7%)
Mon – 3 ( 10%)
Tue – 2 ( 7%)
Wed – 6 ( 20%)
Thu – 4 ( 13%)
Fri – 10 ( 33%)
Sat – 3 ( 10%)
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
By Month
2006-2015
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 AVERAGE
Jan. – 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Feb. – 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Mar. – 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
Apr. – 3 2 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 1 3 1
May. – 0 4 5 5 0 1 4 2 2 5 5 3
June – 4 11 3 2 3 5 7 12 9 12 10 7
July – 12 5 9 6 13 9 11 10 14 10 16 10
Aug. – 9* 4 5 4 6 6 4 3 0 9 7 5
Sept. – – 1 3 5 2 4 2 4 1 5 4 3
Oct. – – 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 2 2 1
Nov. – – 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dec. – – 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
YEAR 30* 27 26 23 28 26 29 34 28 45 48 31*
* – Known Fatalities to date
Note: Due to rounding, monthly averages may do not add up to the yearly average.