Texas lightning map
Texas spans several storm regimes — spring supercells in the north, Gulf-fed convection on the coast, and a long warm season statewide.
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Detected from NOAA GOES-19 GLM satellite data. Aggregate count for Texas — your exact location and alerts live in the app.
About lightning in Texas
Texas spans several storm regimes at once. The northern plains sit on the edge of Tornado Alley, where springtime dryline supercells produce violent lightning and hail, while the Gulf coast draws tropical moisture that fuels heavy summer downpours. Activity runs from April through September, peaking earlier in the north and lingering along the coast. With storms this varied and fast-moving, the live distance to the nearest strike matters more than any statewide average.
- Thunderstorm days/yr
- 45
- US rank
- #14 of 50
- Peak season
- April–September
State thunderstorm-day normals are provisional (NOAA/NWS); per-city climate data is shown where a station normal is published.
Cities in Texas
Lightning safety in Texas
The safest call in Texasisn’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 Texas — 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 Texas get?
Texas averages about 45 thunderstorm days a year, versus a US average near 25 — roughly 1.8× the national norm. Activity peaks April–September.
Where does Texas rank for lightning in the US?
By mean annual thunderstorm days, Texas ranks #14 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 Texas?
Lightning is most frequent April–September in Texas.
How does StrikeCast track lightning in Texas?
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 Texas in the free app to get a push alert when lightning closes in.