129
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
14
Direct injuries
$15.0M
Property damage
Lightning in Gwinnett County, Georgia: 129 recorded events between 1997 and 2022. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #3 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Gwinnett County, Georgia: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Gwinnett County is the 2000s, when 77 of the county's 129 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 Gwinnett County archive, lightning makes up 18.0% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #3 for this hazard and #1 within Georgia, putting it in the 99.9 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for lightning in Gwinnett County with 36 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 2004 | SUGAR HILL | 0 | 3 | 6 | $50K |
| Sep 10, 1997 | LILBURN | 0 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 21, 2003 | SNELLVILLE | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 21, 2000 | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 0 | 2 | $625K |
| Jul 17, 2016 | CENTERVILLE | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 5, 2009 | PITTMAN | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 12, 2009 | ROSEBUD | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 2008 | DACULA | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 13, 2022 | CENTERVILLE | 0 | $50K |
| Aug 5, 2019 | GRAYSON | 0 | $15K |
| Jul 16, 2018 | SUGAR HILL | 0 | $1K |
| Jun 16, 2018 | SUGAR HILL | 0 | $5K |
| May 20, 2018 | DACULA | 0 | $1K |
| Jul 22, 2017 | SUWANEE | 0 | $100K |
| Jul 14, 2017 | MECHANICSVILLE | 0 | $10K |
| Jul 14, 2017 | NORCROSS | 0 | $1K |
| Jul 4, 2017 | HOG MTN | 0 | $200 |
| Jul 17, 2016 | CENTERVILLE | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Gwinnett County
- Thunderstorm Wind 326
- Hail 190
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several Atlanta news media television stations, along with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that three individuals were killed and six were injured at Buford Dam State Park at the south end of Lake Lanier when lightning strikes hit one or more trees under which the individuals were seeking refuge during a strong thunderstorm. The individuals were standing under a tree-lined parkway connecting a parking lot to a beach at the park. Two males, ages 20 and 29, and one female, age 44, were instantly killed by the lightning strike. Six others with the group were injured. The incident occurred at 318 pm EDT. This was not the only lightning related incident in the county, however. Four homes in the county were struck by lightning and set on fire. The fires were contained quickly and damage was minimal.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a 27-year old male was struck by lightning while mowing a lawn. The thunderstorm was not directly over the location at the time, but was nearby in Lawrenceville. The young man was pronounced dead on arrival at a local medical center.
The Gwinnett Daily Post reported that lightning strikes caused extensive damage to the Park Colony Apartments in Norcross. Consequently, 26 families were displaced from their homes. In another incident, lightning struck a home on Fairgreen Place in Duluth, causing heavy damage to the attic.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Gwinnett County, Georgia?
129 lightning events are recorded in Gwinnett County between 1997 and 2022, causing 5 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Gwinnett County?
The strongest lightning on record in Gwinnett County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Gwinnett 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 Gwinnett County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/gwinnett-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.