Home / Weather News /

It's in the forecast: Eight facts about lightning

15:30
12 April 2023

It's in the forecast
Eight facts about lightning

lightning

With thunder and lightning returning to the forecast today, did you know these fascinating facts?

Here are some curious facts about lightning:

  • There are over 100 lightning strikes every second around the world, leading to over 8.6 million lightning strikes every day. That’s a lot of electricity.
  • In the UK and Ireland, lightning is most common from May to August.
  • The south, and east of both the UK and Ireland are more prone to lightning than other areas.
  • Potentially dangerous cloud-to-ground strikes make up only one-quarter of all lightning generated by thunderstorms.
  • Most other incidences of lightning are within the cloud, and this is known as sheet lightning.
  • Lightning is unsurprisingly hotter than the sun. On average, lightning can be as hot as 30,000 degrees. That’s five times hotter than the sun!
  • The phrase “lightning never strikes the same place twice” is actually not correct. Lightning will strike the same places multiple times. The Empire State Building in New York gets struck about 23 times every year.
  • Lastly, while 85% of lightning strike victims are men, women's fatality rate is greater.

Have you witnessed both types of lightning? Share your shots here!

How do thunderstorms develop?read more
Weather & Radar editorial team
More on the topic
Weather radar map of the UK and Ireland showing widespread blue precipitation bands with temperatures near major cities, overlaid by a large cloud with two blue raindrops.
Tuesday 2 December 2025

Close to record-breaking

A wet autumn season in the books
Weather map showing a thunderstorm cell and lightning over the east coast of Queensland.
Tuesday 25 November 2025

Severe thunderstorms

Huge hailstorm hits eastern Australia
Split weather map of Europe showing a low-pressure system west of the UK with isobars and red warm-front arrows on the left, and a colour-coded temperature map on the right with warmer southern and cooler northern regions.
Monday 24 November 2025

Winter takes a break

Weather conditions change dramatically
All weather news
This might also interest you
Sunday 24 August 2025

Your weather - Your shots

Mammatus clouds widely spotted
Sunday 17 August 2025

Your weather - Your shots

Summer shots from a warm week
Split weather map showing UK wind speeds in orange-red shades up to 40 mph on the left and warning levels in green-yellow on the right, with a central wind warning sign.
Wednesday 22 October 2025

Warnings active

Storm Benjamin impacts the UK
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwitteryouTubelinkList