A rare early summer thunderstorm unleashed thousands of lightning strikes that lit up the the sky for hours early Wednesday in Southern California.

So just how many lightning strikes were there?

This map shows registered lightning strikes through early Thursday June 23, 2022 in Southern California.

As of early Thursday morning, more than 8,600 lightning strikes were registered in the greater Southern California region.

Closer to Los Angeles County, more than 4,900 strikes were recorded.

Each bolt in the graphics here represents a registered lightning strike. There were so many Wednesday that bolts overlap throughout the region.

A zoomed in view of lightning strikes registered June 22 and early June 23 in Southern California.

“There were so many, not only here in Southern California, but across the region,” said NBC4 forecaster Belen De Leon. “There wasn’t a spot that didn’t get a lightning strike.”

The severe weather turned deadly in Pico Rivera, where a woman in her 50s and her two dogs were struck and killed by lightning during a walk along the San Gabriel River southeast of Los Angeles.

The thunderstorms, caused by some monsoon moisture that moved into the region Wednesday overnight, brought scattered rain showers and dry lightning.

According to the National Weather Service Storm Data, the U.S. has averaged 43 reported lightning fatalities per year over the last 30 years. The annual average was 27 fatalities from 2009-2019.

About 10 percent of people struck by lightning are killed, according to the NWS.

The odds of being struck by lightning in a given year is 1/1,222,000. The odds of being struck in your lifetime is 1/15,300.

There’s a chance of thunderstorms in Southern California’s mountains Thursday, but skies will clear in most areas.

“Thankfully, the weather isn’t expected to be as turbulent today,” said De Leon.



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