Oklahoma Claims Lightning Capital Of U.S. Ahead Of Expected Storms

"Ain't no love in Oklahoma," but there's definitely some lightning.

A recent study taking a closer look at how often lightning flashes, strikes, and storms were present around the U.S. in 2025 was released. After analyzing the numbers, it seems as though Oklahoma is leading in a new way.

The Sooner state now leads the way for the highest lightning concentration in the country. As KFOR Meteorologist Emily Sutton said: "we're the top capital for when it's gonna' happen, it's gonna' be a lot at once." And it looks as though it's going to happen later this week.

AEM 2025 Lightning Report claims Oklahoma is U.S. lightning hotspot.

Last year's storms proved to be very bright and very powerful in Oklahoma. The study from Advanced Environmental Monitoring (AEM) found that Oklahoma saw approximately 73 lightning flashes per square mile, making us the "lightning capital" of America.

According to their findings, the major shift of concentration of lightning indicates something much bigger, a "broader surge in lightning activity across the Great Plains." The news come just in time for a storm system moving into Oklahoma and the Great Plains within the next few days.

Rain chances on the way for Oklahoma Wednesday and Thursday.

After an incredibly dry December, many of us are looking forward to the rain chances headed our way for Wednesday, January 7, into Thursday morning. Meteorologist Emily Sutton shared her rainfall forecast that includes rain chances up to an inch of rain for central, southern, and eastern Oklahoma.

Luckily, the storms Wednesday do not seem to overwhelmingly threatening. Meteorologst Damon Lane shared the map indicating a marginal risk of severe weather in mostly central Oklahoma, stretching all the way into Texas.

Many other reports indicate that, hopefully, the rain is only bringing some much needed refreshing to Oklahoma and maybe a few lightning strikes to top off the season.