Austin, Texas – With winter providing a break from the most active thunderstorm months, Texas safety officials are encouraging residents to reflect on lightning awareness after one person in the state was killed by a lightning strike during 2025.
According to the National Weather Service and the National Lightning Safety Council, 21 lightning-related deaths were recorded nationwide in 2025, making it the deadliest year since 2019. Texas’s lone fatality occurred during an outdoor activity, continuing a national pattern that shows lightning deaths most often happen when people remain exposed while working or recreating as storms develop.
No lightning-related deaths were reported in the Austin metro area in 2025, but officials stress that risk returns quickly once warmer weather arrives. Texas experiences some of the highest thunderstorm coverage in the country from spring through summer, especially across central and eastern parts of the state where outdoor work, youth sports, and water recreation are common.
Emergency managers urge residents to use the winter months to prepare for 2026. If thunder can be heard, even faintly, people should move indoors immediately to a substantial building or enclosed vehicle. Open fields, isolated trees, metal equipment, and bodies of water significantly increase the risk of being struck, and outdoor activity should not resume until at least 30 minutes after the final thunder.
State officials say reinforcing lightning safety habits before storm season begins is key to preventing future tragedies when Texas’s next round of severe weather arrives.
