The saying “Lightning never strikes the same place twice” is often used to suggest that rare occurrences do not repeat themselves for the same person or in the same location. However, this idiom is not entirely accurate. Lightning has a knack for hitting the same spot multiple times, making it seem almost like a talent of this natural phenomenon. For instance, the Empire State Building is struck approximately 25 times per year, as reported by the National Weather Service. In a particularly intense storm, this iconic New York City landmark was hit eight times within just 24 minutes. Fortunately, the building is equipped with a lightning rod, which serves as a conductive pathway for safely dispersing the electricity to the ground.
Tall structures, like skyscrapers, are prime targets for lightning due to their height, attracting strikes because of their prominence. When lightning initiates within a cloud, a pathway forms to carry the electric charge from the cloud to the ground. As the channel nears the ground, objects on the surface send sparks upward to meet the channel. Tall objects such as skyscrapers, trees, and mountains are more likely to generate the spark that connects with the channel, facilitating the flow of electrical current.
An intriguing example of two lightning strikes in rapid succession occurred on November 14, 1969, when the Saturn V rocket for the Apollo 12 mission was struck twice, just 16 seconds apart, shortly after liftoff. It’s important to note that while tall buildings are commonly struck by lightning, a human being struck by lightning is a far less probable event. In the United States, the chances of being struck by lightning are approximately 1 in 15,300.
Despite these odds, there is a notable exception: Roy Cleveland Sullivan, an American park ranger in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. Sullivan holds the Guinness World Record for surviving the most lightning strikes, having been struck a total of seven times. His first encounter with lightning occurred in 1942, leaving him with burn marks on his leg and a missing toenail. Over the following years, Sullivan was struck six more times, with the last strike occurring in 1977. This remarkable resilience has earned him a place in the annals of extraordinary lightning experiences.
