This may shock you, but out of 64 Colorado counties, Larimer ranks second in human vs. lightning incidents, the National Weather Service says. 

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The worst county for lightning deaths and injuries is El Paso County, with ten lightning-related fatalities and 84 injuries on record since 1980. Larimer County isn't far behind. In that 41-year span, Larimer County has also had 10 lighting-related deaths and 76 injuries on record.

Interestingly, if you look at the Colorado Lightning Cloud-to-Ground density map, Larimer County is in blue and green, whereas El Paso is orange, red and purple.

Weld County, on the other hand, has had far fewer incidents. Since 1980, only one person has been killed by lightning, and 11 have been reported injured. Though they may not have to worry so much about lightning strikes, Weld County does tend to have more tornadoes than like, every other place. Since 1950, Weld has had the most tornadoes in the United States. Most recently, an EF1 touched down on June 8, 2021, damaging a number of properties, but no injuries or deaths were reported.

David Moum on Unsplash
David Moum on Unsplash
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Speaking of strikes, while not in Larimer County, one of the most lightning-prone baseball stadiums in the United States is Denver's Coors Field. Colorado itself ranks seventh in the nation for lightning fatalities, and the reason why, 9NEWS reported, is because we like to play outside a lot... especially in the summer.

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
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The National Weather Service says, 'When thunder roars, go indoors.' More lightning safety information can be found here.

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