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Lightning Facts

  • It does not have to be raining for there to be a lightning risk. Lightning flashes do occur outside the rain area in thunderstorms, and especially in southern Arizona, there can be dry thunderstorms that produce lightning with no rain.
  • Lightning activity varies greatly in southern Arizona. In a typical year, about ten times as many flashes occur in Nogales as in Phoenix.
  • Nearly all lightning deaths and injuries occur outside.
  • About 44 people each year are killed by lightning in the U.S. Ten times as many are injured.
  • Lightning typically travels ten miles or less from a thunderstorm.