When swimmers hear thunder or see lightning, whether they are in a pool or in the open water, they know to get out of the water for fear of getting struck by lightning.
How many swimmers, kayakers, and boaters have been killed by lightning over the past several years in the United States? The National Weather Service provides the data:
National Weather Service Lightning Fatalities in 2026: 14
One death occurred while kayaking at Fort Myers Beach, Florida. One death occurred while jet skiing at Fort DeSoto, Florida. The rest occurred on dryland. See details here.
National Weather Service Lightning Fatalities in 2025: 20
One occurred while fishing from a boat in a river in Goldsboro, North Carolina. One occurred while fishing from a boat in a reservoir in Rankin City, Mississippi. One occurred while standing in the water at New Smyma Beach, Florida. One occurred while boating in a creek in Peder County, North Carolina. Two occurred while fishing in a pond in Waresboro, Georgia. The rest occurred on dryland. See details here.
National Weather Service Lightning Fatalities in 2024: 13
One occurred while warning children of a storm at Seaside Park, New Jersey. One occurred while fishing in Bear River, Utah. One occurred while swimming at the beach in Naples, Florida. The rest occurred on dryland. See details here.
National Weather Service Lightning Fatalities in 2023: 14
One occurred while boating in a lake in Louisa County, Virginia. One occurred while boating in Brevard County, Florida. One occurred while swimming in a creek in Mayes County, Oklahoma. The rest occurred on dryland. See details here.
National Weather Service Lightning Fatalities in 2022: 19
Two occurred while jet skiing in the ocean in Salinas, Puerto Rico. Two occurred while rowing in a lake in Orlando, Florida. The rest occurred on dryland. See details here.
National Weather Service Lightning Fatalities in 2021: 11
One occurred while in the water at the beach on Tybee Island, Georgia. One occurred while lifeguarding at the beach at South Seaside Park, New Jersey. The rest occurred on dryland. See details here.
National Weather Service Lightning Fatalities in 2020: 17
One occurred while jet skiing on a lake in Sierra County, California. The rest occurred on dryland. See details here.
New Lightning Rule in Lake Memphremagog
Phil White established the Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association (NEKOWSA) in 2010 with Lake Memphemagog as its primary open body of water. Lake Memphremagog experiences typical summer thunderstorms typical of the northeast region of the United States. Severe thunderstorms with lightning, high winds, and heavy rain occasionally roll through the region during the warmer summer months which is the peak open water swimming season.
After several swimmers had aborted their marathon swims in Lake Memphremagog, White he Core Protocol
White has always maintained a strict safety policy where if a thunderstorm develops and lightning strikes are detected, the swimmer is immediately halted and are pulled from the water into support boats. After months or years of training and preparation, the disappointment is always profoundly deep.
But White announced on September 7th prior to the 40 km In Search of Memphre attempts by Amanda Brown (31, Canada) and Dave Berry (51, Ireland, MSF bio here), “It seems that in recent years the risk of thunderstorms has increased with our changing climate...[As such], NEKOWSA has adopted a new rule for swims interrupted by threats of lightning. If forced to pull a swimmer because of an imminent threat of lightning, we will note the exact latitude and longitude, pull to the nearest shore, and return when the storm has passed. If the swimmer is able to re-enter the water within an hour of the interruption and continue on to complete the swim, It will be ratified by NEKOWSA as a lightning-interrupted, completed swim as long as all other channel crossing rules published by Marathon Swimmers Federation have been followed.”
Dave Berry’s Successful Crossing
Berry had to swim through the night, including 8 hours of rain between Newport, Vermont and Magog, Quebec, but he finished under clear skies after 17 hours 59 minutes. He became the eighth person in history to complete the Triple Crown of Lake Monster Swims: Loch Ness, Lake Tahoe, and Lake Memphremagog. His wife Siobhan provided crew support along with escort pilots White and Vera Rivard.
2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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