LIVE WEBINAR
Thursday, January 23, 2025 @ 1pm EST
Thursday, January 23, 2025 @ 1pm EST
2024 U.S. Lightning Activity: A First Look
Lightning activity in 2024 upended traditional patterns as states in the Upper Midwest witnessed lightning activity typically reserved for Dixie Alley and the lower parts of Tornado Alley.
This unusual shift could signal long-term changes in severe weather distribution across the United States.
Drawing on the latest statistics contained in AEM’s new 2024 U.S. Lightning Report, we’ll explain these surprising findings while answering all your top questions:
We’ll answer these questions and more:
- Which states and counties had the most concentrated lightning activity per square mile?
- Which areas faced lightning risks most frequently?
- Which areas experienced the largest numbers of high-intensity thunderstorms?
- How does 2024’s lightning activity compare to the climatological trend?
- BONUS: Dive into lightning activity over the nation’s top wind farms.
Webinar Registration
Featured Speakers
Dr. Elizabeth DiGangi
Lightning Scientist
AEM
Dr. Elizabeth DiGangi is an AEM Lightning Scientist and the main researcher behind our annual Lightning Report. She is an active member of the American Meteorological Society and recently co-chaired the Society’s 11th Conference on the Meteorological Application of Lightning Data. Before joining our team, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oklahoma, where she earned her Ph.D. in Meteorology in 2019.
Dr. Jacquelyn Ringhausen
Lightning Researcher
AEM
Dr. Jacquelyn Ringhausen joined AEM in 2024 as a Postdoctoral Lightning Researcher. Since receiving her Ph.D. in lightning physics from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2021, she has built an impressive resume as a field researcher. She has interned for both the National Weather Service and NASA. She has helped deploy a variety of environmental sensors into the field, designed and built lightning sensors, and tested their detection efficiency. She even helped run a field deployment to collect 3-D lightning data inside Hurricane Ian.