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New Orleans has the best thunderstorms in the summer. Just get a French Quarter hotel with a balcony and every day at around 5PM watch the show!
I grew up in Louisiana and nothing is more powerful than a Louisiana thunderstorm, both in sheer loudness of the crackles of thunder, the brightness of the lightning, and the driving rain. They are generally short lived however. Clear skies before, a thunderhead develops, then the show begins and dies down soon after. Clear and slightly cooler but more humid evening follows.
"Afternoon thunderstorms, usually generated by the interaction of the Gulf and Atlantic sea breezes, are such a regular occurrence during the summer that the Tampa Bay area is recognized as the "Lightning Capital of North America." Every year, Florida averages 10 deaths and 30 injuries from lightning strikes, with several of these usually occurring in or around Tampa. University of Florida lightning expert Martin A. Uman has calculated that the average resident is within a half-mile of 10 to 15 lightning strikes every year."
While Florida has the most thunderstorms per year, they are usually typical "garden variety" storms, although they do tend to have a lot of lightning in them. However, if you really want a memorable thunderstorm experience, then it has to be Kansas. There you will find thunderstorms of all varieties, from weak to Supercell and Tornado producing. Kansas is also very flat and treeless so it's easy to chase them down and have an unobstructed view. If you haven't already, you may want to do a little research on storm structure so you learn the best way to find a storm based on weather maps/conditions as well as the best place to sit and get good pictures/video of them. Finally, you should know that most storms in the Midwest part of our country travel from West to East. Tornadic storms generally from SW to NE and Derechos from NW to SE. The most spectacular thunderstorm you can ever see would be a Derecho. Google the word and see what they're like.
It's hard to say. Every year is different for thunderstorms in the US. And it's particularly tricky in summer! Depending on if El Niño or La Niña is present that year. If it's an La Niña year, then spectacular storms that you usually see in the South occur in northern portions of Tornado Alley, such as South Dakota, North Dakota, and even Nebraska. Most major tornado outbreaks occur in areas like Oklahoma, Texas, and areas like Missouri, Louisiana, and Arkansas, but they don't occur in the summer, usually around late April. If its a La Niña year, then storm threat goes more to the south like texas, kansas, and oklahoma. If I were you, I would try the Southwest in Arizona, Western New Mexico, and Utah. The midwest can be very fun, but its very tempermental and unconsistent! And if you want to have a fun time, those storms might be too intense. They take out entire neighborhoods in minutes with EF-5 tornadoes. The monsoon season is spectacular and the lightning shows are absolutely incredible. I took a week vacation in Northern Utah in Sandy, and there were 3 thunderstorms in 2 days. They all had hail, lightning, and intense winds and downpours. And sometimes they stick to the mountains, so they go on for hours. The monsoon season can get really fun and intense. No tornadoes but if you want frequent, intense thunderstorms, the Southwest is where to go!
A for sure thunderstorm place is the Southwest. I agree with Doctor Z that midwest thunderstorms are the best but not guaranteed. If you're willing to take a risk for amazing storms, go there. If you want to be guaranteed thunderstorms that are okay go South. But if you want to see if you're lucky enough to run into a midwest storm, go to Kansas or Oklahoma.
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