Bismarck, North Dakota / Pierre, South Dakota – Officials across North Dakota and South Dakota are using the winter months to reinforce lightning safety awareness after 21 people across the United States were killed by lightning in 2025, the highest annual total since 2019.
According to the National Weather Service and the National Lightning Safety Council, most lightning fatalities last year occurred during outdoor activities such as farming, construction, field work, and recreation near water. While neither North Dakota nor South Dakota recorded a lightning-related death in 2025, emergency managers say the Plains remain a high-risk region once thunderstorm season returns.
Lightning risk across the Dakotas increases from late spring through summer, particularly during fast-developing afternoon and evening storms. Wide-open terrain, agricultural fields, job sites, athletic complexes, and rural roadways can leave people exposed with little shelter when storms build rapidly.
State officials emphasize that winter is the ideal time to build safer habits ahead of 2026. If thunder is heard anywhere in North or South Dakota, residents should move indoors immediately to a substantial building or enclosed vehicle. Open fields, isolated trees, farm equipment, metal structures, and bodies of water significantly increase the risk of being struck.
Emergency management leaders say early action saves lives. Lightning safety outreach is expected to ramp up across both states as warmer weather approaches, with the goal of keeping residents informed, prepared, and protected throughout the next thunderstorm season.
