42
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$9.3M
Property damage
Lightning in Montgomery County, Maryland: 42 recorded events between 1996 and 2024. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #64 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Montgomery County, Maryland: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Montgomery County is the 2000s, when 25 of the county's 42 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 Montgomery County archive, lightning makes up 2.6% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #64 for this hazard and #1 within Maryland, putting it in the 97.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for lightning in Montgomery County with 12 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 25, 2010 | ROCKVILLE | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 23, 2009 | WOODHAVEN | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 27, 2008 | SILVER SPG | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 14, 1999 | LAYTONSVILLE | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 21, 1998 | CENTRAL PORTION | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 12, 2024 | POOLESVILLE | 0 | $500K |
| Feb 22, 2024 | BRIGHTON | 0 | $50K |
| Aug 5, 2022 | COLESVILLE | 0 | $200K |
| Jul 1, 2022 | DAVIS ARPT | 0 | $15K |
| Aug 13, 2021 | WHEATON | 0 | $20K |
| Aug 10, 2021 | DARNESTOWN | 0 | $10K |
| Aug 10, 2021 | QUINCE ORCHARD | 0 | $5K |
| Aug 10, 2021 | GERMANTOWN | 0 | $2.5M |
| Jul 26, 2021 | HOLLYWOOD PARK | 0 | $60K |
| Jul 25, 2010 | ROCKVILLE | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Montgomery County
- Thunderstorm Wind 880
- Flash Flood 241
- Hail 191
- Flood 186
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Lightning struck a 3-story apartment building in the 13100 block of Millhaven Place. The lightning strike started a severe fire that started in the attic and caused the building to collapse, displacing a dozen families and causing an estimated 2.5 million dollars in damage.
Newspaper reports indicated that at least 3 house fires occurred due to intense lightning associated with the strong to severe thunderstorms which moved through the county. The house fires occurred in the northwest portion of Montgomery County.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Montgomery County, Maryland?
42 lightning events are recorded in Montgomery County between 1996 and 2024, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Montgomery County?
The strongest lightning on record in Montgomery County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, Maryland.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/maryland/montgomery-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.