Buzz
Lightning strikes, one of the most prevalent fears, cause approximately ten percent of people to seek shelter during a thunderstorm. They may be better off heading to the valleys, but you get the idea. Although the fear of lightning strikes is widespread, the actual likelihood of being struck is much lower. There's about a one in 3,000 chance of being struck by lightning in a lifetime (some estimates even suggest it's less), and a one in 700,000 chance of being struck in a single year.
However, these statistics are quite broad, and there are numerous factors that could increase your chances of being struck, such as being in the Southeastern U.S. where lightning is more frequent, or simply being outdoors. Statistically, it's unlikely you'll experience a lightning strike. Unless, of course, you happen to share the misfortune of these ten individuals.
10. Jim Lamey – Struck Twice Inside His Home
One of the safest things you can do during an electrical storm is to stay indoors, but as Jim Lamey can attest, being inside doesn’t guarantee you won’t be struck by lightning. In 2009, while showering inside his Pennsylvania home, a lightning bolt struck his water pipes, shaking the entire house. The strike sent Jim flying out of the tub, knocking him unconscious, but fortunately, his head remained over the edge. Thankfully, his son was nearby and managed to save him from drowning.
Six years later, Jim was struck for a second time, this time while washing dishes. The lightning strike knocked him out cold, and he later woke up in a chair with stomach pain, unsure of how he got there. Despite the shocking incidents, Jim survived both strikes with no long-term damage, though he still bears the scars from the burns left by the strikes.
9. Alexander Mandon – Struck Four Times in Six Months
The first three times Alexander Mandon was struck by lightning, he was serving in the Colombian army, but after that, he was discharged. You might think this was some kind of divine message telling him to leave the army, but apparently not, as after his discharge and return home, he was struck again in 2013. What’s even more unusual than Alexander being struck four times in just six months is the cure suggested by his town doctor for his fourth strike.
The doctor prescribed that Alexander be buried with only his head sticking out of the ground for two hours to allow the Earth to absorb the electricity coursing through his body. However, there was a mix-up when the treatment was first administered. Alexander was meant to be upright while buried, not lying down. Hopefully, he was refunded for the initial mishap.
8. Bob Edwards – Struck Three Times, Twice on the Same Road
What are the odds of being struck three times, with two strikes occurring on the same road? Is such a probability even calculable? Statisticians, are you out there? This exact scenario happened to Bob Edwards, a North Carolina man, in 2012. His third strike came as he was leaving a restaurant and heading toward his truck. After being struck, Bob had to crawl back to the restaurant, where a little girl noticed him and ran to her father for help.
Edwards described the strike as feeling like being hit in the chest with a hammer. Even days after the event, he still experienced ringing in his ears, blurred vision, and a metallic taste in his mouth. Earlier, in 1997, when he was struck on the same road, rescuers had to revive Bob three times. He was also struck in South Carolina in 2009. Fortunately, Bob didn't suffer any long-term injuries, but he does struggle with PTSD from the incidents, which he says has affected his job, friendships, and family.
7. Bill Cowern – Struck Twice
Dianna Cowern, also known as Physics Girl, interviewed her father, who had been struck twice by lightning, on her PBS-affiliated YouTube channel. Bill Cowern, a tree farmer, experienced his first lightning strike at the age of 12 while swimming in a lake with friends. After witnessing a bolt of lightning strike the far side of the lake, approximately 11 kilometers (7 miles) away, Bill and his friends felt a tingling sensation in the water. Deciding it was time to exit, Bill was walking home through a small pine forest when lightning struck a nearby tree, knocking him unconscious. He woke up feeling disoriented, unsure of how he got there, but noticed the struck tree still emitting smoke. Bill estimated that he had been unconscious for about an hour and a half.
The second strike occurred when Bill, now 35 years old, was forced to stay indoors due to a thunderstorm. He decided to work in his garage, only for another bolt of lightning to strike a nearby tree, traveling through the ground to connect with him. Bill, who was bending over at the time, was seized by the lightning’s force, causing his body to jerk upright. Fortunately, Bill did not suffer any lasting injuries from either strike.
6. Walter Summerford – Struck Three Times in Life, Once in Death
One of the most legendary cases on this list, Walter Summerford first experienced a lightning strike in 1918 while serving as a major in World War I, which knocked him off his horse. After the war, the British major relocated to Vancouver. In 1924, while on a fishing trip, lightning struck a nearby tree and traveled through the ground, hitting Walter. In 1930, while walking through a park, you guessed it, he was struck a third time, leaving him paralyzed.
Two years after the third strike, Walter died and was buried. But his story didn’t end there. Four years after his burial, a bolt of lightning cracked his gravestone, marking the fourth time Walter had been struck.
5. Casey Wagner – Struck Twice in a Split Second
The saying 'lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice' doesn’t hold up in this story. In 2013, Casey Wagner, a Texas rodeo clown, attended the annual Rednecks with Paychecks event in Saint Jo, Texas, where hundreds of people gather to race, off-road, and go mudding. (Think of it as Burning Man, but with more redneck flair.) During the event, a storm began to form overhead.
Wagner and his friends sought shelter, but while standing near a tree, lightning struck Casey twice in an instant. (Pro tip: if you’re trying to avoid lightning, standing near trees is not the safest choice.) He described it as sounding like two shotguns firing in quick succession. Fortunately, Casey survived the strike.
4. Michael Cannon – Struck Three Times
Alabama native Michael Cannon has had the unfortunate distinction of being struck by lightning three times—twice in his early twenties and once in his teens. At the age of 16, while working with his father to build a fence, lightning struck about 0.8 kilometers (0.5 miles) away, traveled down the fence, and hit Michael. He recalled vividly seeing the lightning ball coming down the fence towards him.
The second strike occurred while Michael was working underneath a truck, with lightning traveling through the wet ground to reach him. The third time, while inspecting an old car in a barn at a friend’s house, Michael was struck in his hands. The force of the lightning singed the hair off his knuckles and knocked him unconscious.
3. Melvyn Roberts – Struck 11 Times
Melvyn Roberts, a South Carolina resident, gained national attention in 2011 after being struck by lightning six times. By 2015, he claimed to have been hit five more times. Among his encounters were occasions while sitting on his porch and twice while riding a lawnmower. His wife makes sure to stand far away from him during storms, stating, 'Someone has to call for emergency.' It’s hard to become famous for anything else when you’ve been struck by lightning this many times.
Roberts has medical files that seem endless, and he’s become a local legend in the medical community. He described the sensation of being struck as if being 'cooked from the inside out.' Unfortunately, the toll of multiple lightning strikes hasn’t been without lasting consequences. Roberts suffers from headaches, speech difficulties, nerve damage, and memory loss. He’s even said with regret that he struggles to recall his children’s childhoods.
2. Roy Sullivan – Struck Seven Times
As the official record-holder for the most lightning strikes, Roy Sullivan’s name is etched in the Guinness World Records. His odds of being struck were heightened by his role as a park ranger in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. Spending so much time in the great outdoors, Roy was struck several times while on duty, and in one astonishing instance, lightning set his hair on fire.
After his third strike, Roy began to believe that nature itself was targeting him. In one peculiar incident, he even thought a cloud was following him and tried to flee, only to be struck again. Tragically, in 1983, Roy passed away from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His suicide, however, had no connection to the lightning strikes and was reportedly due to a heartbreak caused by unrequited love.
1. Beth Peterson – Struck Twice
Beth Peterson, the author of Life After Lightning, recounts her first lightning strike while stationed as an Army specialist at Fort Benning, Georgia, in July 1992. While walking outdoors, a storm suddenly rolled in, and Beth was struck directly by lightning, not through any secondary contact but straight on. She also shares that after this strike, she had a near-death experience where she was given the choice by God to either stay in Heaven or return to Earth. She was warned that returning would bring pain, but also the chance to help many people. Nearly a year later, still in Georgia, recovering from the fear the first incident caused, Beth was struck again.
While Beth’s emotional healing has been challenging, especially with panic attacks triggered by storms, her physical recovery has been even more difficult. The lightning strikes led to the amputation of all ten of her toes, and she continues to endure severe, chronic headaches as a result.
