Someone local to me was struck by lightning recently, whilst they were filming the storm on their phone from their porch. The phone screen is split, their arm hurts etc, but the film was recoverable. The lightning was just discernible as just a slight lightening on one frame, apparently. And a simultaneous clap. They were fine, and apparently it was the second time they were struck, although the first time was decades ago when they were caught out cycling.
> They were fine, and apparently it was the second time they were struck
we usually don't notice how insulated we are from the dangers of the elements in our modern lives. We even use "struck by lightening" in many "what are the odds" type of comparisons. But risk/luck is all about positioning and exposing yourself to it[1]. What are the chances of getting killed in a plane crash? A lot higher if you're a pilot.
Last year I spent several months in the wilderness trekking the Alps. The number of times I was scared shitless was much higher than normal. With every bad weather I had to make a decision of whether to camp under trees (and get killed by a falling branch) or by camping in a clear field (and get struck by lightening). Lying there in my tent and thanking god (which I don't even believe in) for my apparent luck. I pondered this a lot and thought about Roy Sullivan[1] constantly (and airline employees too).
>The lightning hit the top of his head, set his hair on fire, traveled down, and burnt his chest and stomach. Sullivan turned to his car when something unexpected occurred — a bear approached the pond and tried to steal trout from his fishing line. Sullivan had the strength and courage to strike the bear with a tree branch. He claimed that this was the twenty-second time he hit a bear with a stick in his lifetime.
> The lightning first hit nearby trees and was deflected into the open window of the truck. The strike knocked Sullivan unconscious and burned off his eyebrows and eyelashes, and set his hair on fire. The uncontrolled truck kept moving until it stopped near a cliff edge.
Trees attract lightening. Best to stay away from them during T-storms.
Most golf courses have thunderstorm sirens, when it sounds stop, drop everything, head for club house or lay flat on ground well away from trees.
The pro golfer Lee Trevino https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Trevino was struck by lightening, so yes, it happens. Suffered back problems from the strike. I believe he lost a year on the tour.
> Trees attract lightening. Best to stay away from them during T-storms.
Yes, this is the common-sense advice: don't shelter under a tree. Yet I always wonder looking at all those trees around me standing there for 50-100 years.. how many of these were struck by lighting? Are many trees struck, but without damage showing, or were they just never hit? Maybe I could just shelter under them..
I've heard people who are struck by lightning once are way more likely to get struck again. Mostly it's probably due to the patterns and behaviors they have, but some stories it really seems like there's a sort of hidden effect of being struck by lightning. Probably just happenstance but part of me thinks it'd be interesting if being struck by lightning did cause some odd change. We could call it the lightning touch.
