Idaho lightning map
Idaho's mountains spark afternoon thunderstorms in summer, sometimes producing dry lightning that drives wildfire risk across the high terrain.
Checking…
Detected from NOAA GOES-19 GLM satellite data. Aggregate count for Idaho — your exact location and alerts live in the app.
About lightning in Idaho
Idaho’s thunderstorms build over the mountains in summer as afternoon heating lifts air along the high terrain. Many are “dry” storms whose rain evaporates before reaching the ground, making their lightning a frequent wildfire starter across the state’s forests and rangeland. Activity runs May through August. Because dry lightning can strike with little rain to warn you, the live distance and trend to the nearest flash are what matter most.
- Thunderstorm days/yr
- 30
- US rank
- #35 of 50
- Peak season
- May–August
State thunderstorm-day normals are provisional (NOAA/NWS); per-city climate data is shown where a station normal is published.
Cities in Idaho
Lightning safety in Idaho
The safest call in Idahoisn’t how many storm days it averages a year — it’s how close the nearest strike is right now. Keep to the 30-30 rule: indoors within 30 seconds of thunder, back outside only 30 minutes after the last. StrikeCast shows that live distance and whether the storm is closing in, so you can move early.
StrikeCast app
Distance, trend & alerts — in your pocket.
GPS-precise distance to the nearest strike, live approaching/moving-away trend, and push alerts for every place that matters across Idaho — home, work, the kids' school.
Your exact location stays on your device. Never shared. Never tracked.
Lightning guides
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm days does Idaho get?
Idaho averages about 30 thunderstorm days a year, versus a US average near 25 — roughly 1.2× the national norm. Activity peaks May–August.
Where does Idaho rank for lightning in the US?
By mean annual thunderstorm days, Idaho ranks #35 of 50 states. Rankings use NOAA/NWS climate normals; the live distance and trend on this page come from NOAA GOES-19 satellite data.
When is thunderstorm season in Idaho?
Lightning is most frequent May–August in Idaho.
How does StrikeCast track lightning in Idaho?
StrikeCast reads NOAA GOES-19 GLM (Geostationary Lightning Mapper) satellite data, updated continuously, to show how far away the nearest strike is and whether it is approaching or moving away. Save any place in Idaho in the free app to get a push alert when lightning closes in.