Is Your Lightning Safety Plan Ready for Summer Storms?
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published new guidance on lightning safety based on data from the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) and the University of Southern Mississippi.
With lightning strikes occurring about 40 million times every year, lightning presents a signifacant risk to the general population and especially for people at outdoor sports and special events, according to the Lightning Safety Guide for Sports and Special Events, which was published in late May.
The NCS4 surveyed more than 182 people representing the entertainment sector and professional, intercollegiate, and interscholastic sports. Ninety-five percent of the respondents said that while their organization had a lightning safety plan, only 77 percent felt that the plan appropriately covered their event. The plans include weather monitoring, shelter-in-place, and evacuation protocols; communication protocols; coordination with first responders; defined roles and responsibilities; and emergency supplies and equipment needed.
Guidance
Mitigation. While the best defense against the risk of lightning is to avoid it altogether, sometimes that isn’t an option. Before an outdoor event, venue managers should identify areas that provide a safe haven from lightning strikes and know how long it takes to get people to those areas. Safe zones include indoor areas that are fully enclosed because electrical wiring and plumbing help reduce the risk of electrocution and funnel lightning around the people inside. Another safe location is a fully-enclosed vehicle because the metal roofs act as conductors that direct lightning around (instead of to) the occupants while the tires can provide grounding.
The report noted that although low-lying areas away from tall objects can seemingly provide natural protection from direct strikes, no outdoor location is completely safe. Therefore, avoid having people in open or exposed areas, as well as open structures like gazebos, dugouts, pavilions, or vehicles like convertibles and golf carts. “Wet fields can cause lightning risks to expand over the surface area should a strike occur. Additionally, metal bleachers or other exposed areas in and around venues can be deadly,” the guide said.
For every event, venue managers should clearly assign two responsibilities: a weather safety official and an authorized decision-maker. The weather safety official is the person responsible for monitoring weather conditions, including lightning. The authorized decision-maker decides when and how a venue’s lightning safety plan is carried out. Depending on the venue or the demands of an event, these roles might fall to two people or just one.
Certain mitigation measures including lightning rods, a grounding system, and electrical UL surge protectors can help reduce the risk and damage of a lightning strike.
Lightning safety plans. Such plans are not universal because the lightning safety plan for a community pool will not appropriately address the lightning risks facing a stadium.
Venue managers should tailor their plans according to several factors, including the size of the venue; the number of people at the venue; the speed of incoming storms; the time needed to stop an event and, if necessary, evacuate people from the site; distance to safe zones; and how to get people to safe zones.
Regardless of an event’s size or scope, a venue’s safety plan should include a risk assessment, protective action planning, designation of a weather safety official and an authorized decision-maker, weather monitoring, communication planning, event cancellation or resumption directions, staff training, and education.
The guide recommended that venue managers consider using grounding solutions with lightning rods, subscribing to a lightning data notification service, onsite lightning detection infrastructure system, or a professional onsite or remote meteorologist. Sites with fixed staffing may also want to conduct annual lightning or weather safety training.
“Regardless of complexity, lightning safety plans should incorporate key decision points, often referred to as trigger points,” the guide noted. These decision points are the distances between a venue and lightning. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recommends using 15-, 12-, and 8-mile radius if lightning is witnessed, detected, or anticipated, respectively. The radius of 8 miles is considered a minimum because even though most lightning happens within that radius of a thunderstorm, 20 percent of lightning strikes happen outside of that radius. The weather safety official should maintain an awareness of these trigger points and keep the authorized decision-maker aware if a trigger point occurs.
Safety plans should also include when an how to resume or cancel an event in response to lightning. For venues consulting a professional meteorologist with use of real time lightning data, an event can be resumed if all of the following conditions occur:
- Lightning has moved beyond 8 miles of the venue
- The storm is taking lightning activity away from the venue
- There is no longer a threat of new lightning strikes within 8 miles of the venue
For venues that are not consulting a professional meteorologist, NOAA recommends waiting 30 minutes after no thunder or lightning is observed before resuming activities.
Lightning and Fatalities in the United States
Between 2006 and 2024, nearly 500 people were struck and killed by lightning in the United States, according to a 2025 analysis by the National Lightning Safety Council. “June, July, and August are the peak months for lightning activity across the United States and the peak months for outdoor summer activities,” according to the analysis. As a result, more than 72 percent of lightning deaths occurred during those same months, with slightly more deaths occurring on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays compared to other days of the week.
“About two thirds of the victims were enjoying outdoor leisure activities prior to being struck, with water-related activities topping the list,” the council reported. “Of the water-related activities, fishing ranked highest with boating and beach activities also significantly contributing to the water-related deaths.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an average of 28 people die every year from lightning strikes in the United States (based off data from 2006 to 2021), with the majority of such deaths occurring in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, and Texas.
In 2023, Texas had the most reported lightning events (42.3 million), followed by Florida (19.1 million), Oklahoma, (13.6 million), and Mississippi (13 million), according to the CISA report. “The greatest frequency of lightning occurs along the Gulf Coast states and generally decreases as the distance from the coast increases,” the report said.
The NOAA Storm Prediction Center offers a free tool to visualize the probability of lightning across the country, which offers venue managers, event coordinators, and the public a way to develop an awareness of lightning risk.
