41
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$355K
Property damage
Lightning in Kern County, California: 41 recorded events between 1997 and 2022. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #70 nationally and #3 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Kern County, California: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Kern County is the 2000s, when 26 of the county's 41 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 Kern County archive, lightning makes up 4.9% of all recorded severe weather across 11 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #70 for this hazard and #3 within California, putting it in the 97.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for lightning in Kern County with 10 recorded events, while Jan 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 19, 2015 | GREENFIELD | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 22, 2022 | RIDGECREST | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 11, 2011 | RIDGECREST | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 11, 2011 | RIDGECREST | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 3, 2009 | KERNVALE | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 5, 1998 | BAKERSFIELD | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 22, 2022 | RIDGECREST | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 2015 | GREENFIELD | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 11, 2011 | RIDGECREST | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 11, 2011 | RIDGECREST | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 3, 2009 | KERNVALE | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 21, 2006 | ROSAMOND | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 18, 2006 | RIDGECREST | 0 | $35K |
| Jun 29, 2006 | INYOKERN | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 2006 | (BFL)MEADOWS FIELD AP | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 2006 | (BFL)MEADOWS FIELD AP | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Kern County
- Flood 325
- Flash Flood 134
- Heavy Rain 111
- Thunderstorm Wind 57
- Debris Flow 51
- Hail 41
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A lightning strike on a house in Northwest Bakersfield caused damage from fire. There were numerous lightning strikes in Kern County during the early morning hours of the 30th, including tens of strikes in the Bakersfield Metropolitan area.
Numerous power pole and grass fires were touched off by lightning strikes in the Southwest San Joaquin Valley from Taft northward to Fellows during the wee hours of the morning of the 30th. Over 8000 utility customers lost power during the thunderstorm/lightning episode in the Kern County area, including 4000 customers on the West Side of the South Valley.
Frequent cloud-to-ground lightning strokes occurred from Ridgecrest to NAS China Lake in northeast Kern County early in the morning of the 18th. Power was knocked out to over 5300 customers in the Ridgecrest and Inyokern areas during the early morning hours before dawn. Southern California Edison reported at least 25 sites where the storm damaged equipment. Unreportable damage also occurred at NAS China Lake from the lightning. The thunderstorm activity also occurred at Trona, 17 miles ENE of Ridgecrest in San Bernardino County, at 1:00 AM PST and similarly had accompanying strong winds, heavy rain, and lightning.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Kern County, California?
41 lightning events are recorded in Kern County between 1997 and 2022, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Kern County?
The strongest lightning on record in Kern County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Kern 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 Kern County, California.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/california/kern-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.