41
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$2.7M
Property damage
Lightning in Wake County, North Carolina: 41 recorded events between 1998 and 2023. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #70 nationally and #2 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Wake County, North Carolina: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Wake County is the 2010s, when 23 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 Wake County archive, lightning makes up 2.7% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #70 for this hazard and #2 within North Carolina, putting it in the 97.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for lightning in Wake County with 18 recorded events, while Oct 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 28, 2018 | KNIGHTDALE | 0 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 10, 2015 | MACEDONIA | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 14, 2005 | KNIGHTDALE | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 24, 1999 | FALLS | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 7, 2023 | BROOKHAVEN | 0 | $20K |
| Apr 7, 2023 | CARIO | 0 | $50K |
| Mar 2, 2023 | SOUTH RALEIGH ARPT | 0 | $100K |
| Aug 10, 2022 | FAWLERS XRDS | 0 | $25K |
| May 6, 2022 | BAYLEAF | 0 | $12K |
| Jul 23, 2020 | RALEIGH ARPT | 0 | $25K |
| Aug 22, 2019 | LASSITER | 0 | $50K |
| Jul 28, 2018 | KNIGHTDALE | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 13, 2015 | AUBURN | 0 | $25K |
| Apr 10, 2015 | MACEDONIA | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Wake County
- Thunderstorm Wind 727
- Hail 393
- Flash Flood 280
- Tornado 40
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Officials said lightning struck the side of the home by the garage and traveled down the rain gutter, and into the sprinkler system in the yard. Fire crews were able to quickly put out the blaze, which mainly damaged part of the garage.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Wake County, North Carolina?
41 lightning events are recorded in Wake County between 1998 and 2023, causing 4 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Wake County?
The strongest lightning on record in Wake County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Wake 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 Wake County, North Carolina.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-carolina/wake-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.