69
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
9
Direct injuries
$3.1M
Property damage
Lightning in Madison County, Alabama: 69 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #15 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Madison County, Alabama: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Madison County is the 2010s, when 29 of the county's 69 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Madison County archive, lightning makes up 3.5% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #15 for this hazard and #1 within Alabama, putting it in the 99.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for lightning in Madison County with 17 recorded events, while Feb is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 14, 2016 | CHELSEA | 0 | 1 | 3 | $0 |
| Aug 18, 2002 | HUNTSVILLE | 0 | 1 | 1 | $100K |
| Jun 28, 2018 | CHERRYTREE | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 16, 2012 | BELL FACTORY | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 6, 2014 | HUNTSVILLE | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 27, 2006 | HUNTSVILLE | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 26, 2006 | HUNTSVILLE | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 20, 1998 | HUNTSVILLE | 0 | 0 | 1 | $75K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 2025 | FLETCHER CHAPEL | 0 | $1K |
| Apr 2, 2025 | BELL FACTORY | 0 | $100K |
| Jun 12, 2023 | HUNTSVILLE PARK | 0 | $500 |
| May 9, 2021 | REDSTONE AAF | 0 | $5K |
| Sep 11, 2019 | OAKWOOD COLLEGE | 0 | $30K |
| Jun 28, 2018 | CHERRYTREE | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 2016 | MADISON | 0 | $10K |
| Jul 14, 2016 | CHELSEA | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 10, 2015 | OAKWOOD COLLEGE | 0 | $10K |
| Aug 10, 2015 | UNION GROVE | 0 | $10K |
Other hazards here
More from Madison County
- Thunderstorm Wind 1,055
- Hail 471
- Flash Flood 203
- Tornado 96
- Flood 42
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Four fires were started almost simultaneously by lightning strikes. One man died in a fire caused by a lightning strike. This occurred when the Royal Pines apartment complex caught on fire and damaged eight units. One unit of the University Park Apartments was heavily damaged by a lightning induced fire. One house received attic damage from a fire and one person suffered smoke inhalation.
A 40 year old male was struck by lightning in the driveway of his residence near the intersection of Bell Factory Road and Red Rock Drive. The person was transported to the hospital and died five days later on the 20th. Exact time of the lightning strike is unknown.
Media reports lightning has struck an individual on the Redstone Stone Arsenal grounds. Strike developed well outside the line of storms. Time estimated by NASA SPoRT.||From WAAY: Redstone Arsenal officials confirm that a contractor was killed on post Thursday after a possible lightning strike. ||The man, who worked for Eskola Roofing based in Morristown TN., was pronounced deceased Thursday night at 11:30pm at UAB Hospital. Garrison officials say that the man was working near PEO Aviation at 2:45pm when he was injured.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Madison County, Alabama?
69 lightning events are recorded in Madison County between 1996 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Madison County?
The strongest lightning on record in Madison County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Madison County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Lightning in Madison County, Alabama.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/alabama/madison-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.