Helena, Montana – Montana emergency officials 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 hiking, ranch work, construction, camping, and recreation near water. While Montana did not record a lightning-related death in 2025, officials say the state’s landscape and outdoor culture still create elevated risk once storm season returns.
Lightning danger in Montana typically increases from late spring through summer, especially during afternoon and evening thunderstorms that develop rapidly over mountain ranges and high plains. Hikers above treeline, ranchers working in open country, and people recreating near rivers and lakes face the greatest exposure when storms build quickly.
State and local officials say winter is the ideal time to strengthen safety habits ahead of 2026. If thunder is heard anywhere in Montana, residents should move indoors immediately to a substantial building or enclosed vehicle. Ridge lines, open fields, isolated trees, metal equipment, and bodies of water significantly increase the risk of being struck.
Emergency management leaders emphasize that early decisions save lives. Lightning safety outreach is expected to ramp up statewide as warmer weather approaches, with the goal of keeping Montana residents prepared, informed, and safe throughout the next thunderstorm season.
