Mother Nature, in all her glory, is awesome yet deadly at the same time. Such is the case as you will see in the videos below.
According to the NOAA ( National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), during the 10-year period of 2004-2013, 33 people were killed and 234 were injured by lightning strikes annually.
On average, lightning strikes are fatal for about 10 percent of the people who are struck. The remaining 90 percent survive, however, they often suffer from an array of long-term and often debilitating symptoms.
When thunderstorms are in the area, there is no place outdoors that can be considered as ‘safe’.
Even if you hear the slightest bit of thunder, that is your indication that clouds are close enough that you can be struck by lightning. You should immediately move to safe shelter, a substantial building or inside an enclosed metal-topped vehicle.
One that that is particularly interesting is men are nearly four times more likely to be struck by lightning than women.
Here are some additional facts about lightning:
- 25 million – Average U.S. cloud-to-ground lightning strikes per year
- 50,000 degrees (F) – Temperature that lightning can reach
- 1,800 – Average number of thunderstorms on earth at any given moment
- 100 – Number of times lightning hits earth per second
- 5-10 miles – Distance lightning can strike away from a thunderstorm
- The energy of a lightning bolt can exceed the power of a nuclear reactor
- Average lightning strike can light a 100-watt bulb for more than 3 months
H/T: Weather.com