Cheyenne, Wyoming – Wyoming 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 ranch work, construction, hiking, camping, and recreation near water. While Wyoming did not record a lightning-related death in 2025, officials stress that the state’s wide-open terrain and high-elevation landscapes still create significant risk once thunderstorm season returns.
Lightning danger in Wyoming typically increases from late spring through summer, especially during fast-developing afternoon and evening storms across the plains and mountain ranges. Ranchers, hikers above treeline, oil and gas workers, and people traveling long stretches of open roadway are among the most vulnerable when storms build with little warning.
State and local officials say winter is the ideal time to strengthen safety habits ahead of 2026. If thunder is heard anywhere in Wyoming, residents should move indoors immediately to a substantial building or enclosed vehicle. Open rangeland, ridge tops, isolated trees, metal equipment, and bodies of water significantly increase the risk of being struck.
Emergency management leaders emphasize that early action saves lives. Lightning safety outreach is expected to ramp up statewide as warmer weather approaches, with the goal of keeping Wyoming residents prepared, informed, and safe throughout the next thunderstorm season.
