Blitzatlas 2024: This is Austria's Hotspot

In 2024, the Austrian lightning measurement and information system ALDIS registered 100,309 ground lightning strikes in the country, as shown in the current Lightning Atlas with measurements from all 96 districts. This was 35 percent more than in 2023 (74,057 lightning strikes), the Austrian Association for Electrical Engineering OVE announced in a release.

The Styrian district of Voitsberg was Austria's lightning hotspot in 2024 with 2.52 lightning strikes per square kilometer per year. The place with the least lightning was Steyr (city) with 0.26 lightning events per square kilometer per year.

35 Percent More Lightning in Austria in 2024

Styria was once again the federal state with the most ground lightning and the highest lightning density in 2024. According to ALDIS/BLIDS, almost 27,000 strikes were recorded - that is 27 percent of all registered lightning events. In the district of Bruck-Mürzzuschlag, almost 5,000 ground lightning strikes occurred - the highest number of lightning events per district. There was particularly a lot of lightning in July (34,000 strikes), with July 12, 2024, being the day with the most lightning (10,800 strikes).

The data in the Austrian Lightning Atlas refers to "flashes" and not "strokes," meaning discharges. Lightning often does not consist of just a single discharge. In a lightning channel, up to 15 or even more discharges can occur within a second.

(APA/Red)

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