Ask A Scientist General Science Archive

Question:
A third grade class asks, "how often does lightening strike people?"
 pleasant lane

Answer 1:
Between 100 and 300 people are killed each year in
the United States and another 1,500 are injured.
It is estimated that at any given time, 2,000
thunderstorms are occurring on earth
and that lightning strikes the ground about 100
times per second.  WOW!
 grant l

Answer 2:
According to National Weather Service statistics, the average number of
lightning fatalities in the U.S. for the last 10 years was 70. The number of
fatalities has been steadily dropping. The average in the 1940s was over 300
per year. Last year there were only 41 lightning fatalities. However a recent
study found that lightning deaths may be underreported by as much as 30 %.
About 20% of people who are struck by lightning are killed - most survive!
The chances of anyone being struck by lightning is 1 in 600,000. But Ray
"Dooms" Sullivan, a park ranger from Virginia was struck by lightning 7
different times!
 
Allsopp