Weather alerts are in effect as rounds of showers and potentially thunderstorms move through the Carolinas tomorrow. A steady rain will be with areas, especially west of Charlotte, tomorrow morning, with a thunderstorm threat picking up by afternoon.

Lightning strikes are always a serious threat, no matter what season it is. For the last year, lightning strikes in the US have reached an 8-year-high, according to Vaisala Xweather.

Oklahoma has surpassed Florida as the nation's new lightning leader, recording about 73 flashes per square mile in 2025. This shift is attributed to an unusually active severe weather season in Oklahoma and a drier-than-average year in Florida.

More numbers from 2025 in the world of weather are in the books. Meteorologist Adam Rutt takes a look. Though severe weather season is still several months away,

Lightning activity surged to an eight-year high by the end of 2025, with new regional hot spots emerging as the new “lightning capitals.”

A lack of hurricanes and a parched wet season is one reason why Oklahoma closed in on Florida's lightning title but it's complicated.

A small Oklahoma town overtook a tiny Texas community in 2025 as the U.S. lightning capital, where lightning density counts more than total strikes.