Which lightning strike is most dangerous

A person struck directly by lightning becomes a part of the main lightning discharge channel. Most often, direct strikes occur to victims who are in open areas. Direct strikes are not as common as the other ways people are struck by lightning, but they are potentially the most deadly.

The heat produced when lightning moves over the skin can produce burns, but the current moving through the body is of greatest concern. While the ability to survive any lightning strike is related to immediate medical attention, the amount of current moving through the body is also a factor.

A side flash also called a side splash occurs when lightning strikes a taller object near the victim and a portion of the current jumps from taller object to the victim. Side flashes generally occur when the victim is within a foot or two of the object that is struck. Most often, side flash victims have taken shelter under a tree to avoid rain or hail. When lightning strikes a tree or other object, much of the energy travels outward from the strike in and along the ground surface.

This is known as the ground current. Anyone outside near a lightning strike is potentially a victim of ground current. From the ground, you will see a bolt stretch from one cloud to another. There is no way to predict which version of lightning is occurring during a storm, which is why experts say people should always head indoors when thunder roars.

If lightning is visible, that means it is within a lightning risk area. A bolt of lightning can travel as far as 10 miles. Candace joined the News 6 team as the weekend morning meteorologist and reporter. She comes to Central Florida from Miami. A river flood warning in effect for Lake and Volusia Counties. Not all lightning strikes are equal: What type is most dangerous? Cloud-to-ground lightning is 6 times hotter than the sun. On June 26 in , lightning hits a gunpowder factory in the small European country of Luxembourg, killing more than people.

Lightning kills approximately 73 people every year in the United States alone, but victims are almost always killed one at a time. The Luxembourg disaster may have been the most deadly lightning strike in history. The earth experiences 8 to 9 million lightning strikes every single day.

In a typical year, the United States will see about 70, thunderstorms somewhere in its territory.