Top 5 US airports at risk for lightning strikes
Every storm with lightning is dangerous, but it can be especially hazardous in a busy airport environment. Amid all the movement and technology, both staff and passengers are at risk.
"Lightning heats up the atmosphere to hotter than the surface of the sun and it packs thousands of times more electricity than the wall outlets that you would plug your phone or computer into," Chris Vagasky, a meteorologist with Vaisala, told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell.
Vaisala, a weather data measurement firm, has developed an Airport Lightning Risk Index that computes how much each airport in the United States is impacted by lightning. The index takes the number of takeoffs and landings at an airport and multiplies that by the lightning density in that location.
The top five airports on the index are all located in just two states, one of which has long been known as "the lightning capital of America."
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Lightning density per county between 2015 and 2019 is plotted out on a U.S. map above. (Vaisala) |
According to Vaisala, the following five U.S. airports have both a lot of lightning and a lot of flight activity.
5. Dallas Love Field
4. Miami International Airport
3. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston)
2. Orlando International Airport
1. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is the most likely airport in America to experience lightning strikes, according to Vaisala's list.
Of the top 10 airports at risk of lightning, seven are located in Texas and Florida, which isn't surprising, again, considering Florida has long been considered the lightning capital of America, although a new report shows Oklahoma is edging out the Sunshine State when it comes to lightning density per square kilometer. However, Vagasky told AccuWeather not to expect a clear lightning capital to be named any time soon.
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"Whether one is going to overtake the other and just be the lightning king for the rest of time, you can't really say that. I think there's going to be a lot of fluctuation between the two. They're going to be battling it out," Vagasky said.
On the other end of the list, most of the airports least likely to experience lightning activity are in California. It's also worth noting America is not the top lightning capital around the globe, as that distinction goes to Singapore.
Click here for a complete list of rankings on the Airport Lightning Risk Index.
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