July 18, 2025 • 6 mins
Jim Ryan talks with Mendte in the Morning to talk about the increase in lightning strike deaths this year and theories as to why the numbers have gone up.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, what is going on. We've had two people killed
by lightning and several cub scouts had to go to
the to the hospital because because of lightning strikes in
our area. Is it happening more this year than in
the past. For that, let's talk to Jim Ryan, ABC
News correspondent in Dallas. Jim, I know you've been looking
(00:21):
into this. What are the lightning strikes for this year?
Are we up for the year?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
We are? Well, we're going to be. We're at a
dozen right now, Larry. We've had twelve so far, including
the two that happened in New Jersey in just the
last couple of weeks. So twelve here we are in
the middle of July. Last year, for all of last
year there were thirteen. So we're easily on page to
exceed last year and probably exceed the year before that
(00:48):
as well, when we had fourteen. This is sort of
an interesting statistic. In twenty sixteen we had sort of
a freak year with forty fatalities all together from lightning strikes.
But since two thousand and six or so, the numbers
have been generally going down. Arry.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Now, there are lightning detectors that you can buy right
and I would imagine that that would be wise for
someplace like a golf course to.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Get sure absolutely even in you know, if you have
a farmer ranch, you have wide open spaces, and I'm
looking at one right now. A company called Scientific Sales
offers one, but so do other companies. This has the
siren system attached to it, it has the lightning detector.
The thing's forty five hundred dollars. And you're right. I mean,
if you have a golf course, or if you have
a swimming pool or some public space where a lot
(01:34):
of people gather, might be a good investment, you know,
especially if you can save a life or two.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
How do they work? How can they tell if lightning
is going to strike?
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Well, they detect electrical field in the air, electrical charges
in the air. Right, it's monitoring for lightning. Can you
can see this? You know, most commercial airliners now have
lightning detection systems on board, so they can see what's
up ahead and in terms of lightning, and they need
to stay away from it for the purpose of hail
(02:05):
for aircraft specifically. But yeah, it detects what's happening in
the air in terms of electrical output within a certain range.
The more expensive ones can catch that lightning thirty forty
miles away, which is great. This less expensive one than
forty five hundred dollars one catches it within twenty miles.
But even a thunderstorm twenty miles away can cause lightning
(02:29):
that strikes you twenty miles away. So it's worth doing something.
I mean, and there's something called the thirty thirty rule
that the National Weather Service has Larry. If you see
the flash of lightning and then you hear the thunder
up to thirty seconds later, so you hear it ten seconds, fifteen,
(02:50):
twenty seconds later, it's time to head for cover, and
not just under a tree. Getting into a car is
a good idea. Getting into a building is a better idea,
but getting out of the open. The thirty thirty rule
right thirty you see the flash, hear the lightning, You
see the flash, here the thunder within thirty seconds. Time
to go wow.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Thirty seconds. Yeah, I had always heard like five and
thirty seconds. That means how far away would it be
at that point.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
That says that it's six miles out? But you know,
I think that you're better off to as you do
err on the side of caution. I mean, if it's
ten fifteen seconds, it's time to go, no matter what.
But they're being very conservative conservative about this with this
thirty thirty rule. I decided to look back a little
ways though. Okay, so here we are sitting at a
(03:37):
dozen this year and kind of hoping that we don't
see anymore looking at twenty sixteen and the forty fatalities
that happened then. So I've did a little historical research here.
Between nineteen get this, between nineteen forty and nineteen forty four,
the annual average for lightning fatalities. Take a guess theory.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Oh, I have no idea.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
One hundred ninety Oh my ny.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
No, I would never have guessed that. I was. I
was thinking it was going to be higher, But I
never would have guessed something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Three hundred ninety people per year on average died from
lightning from nineteen forty to nineteen forty four. What was
happening then, Well, World War Two. So there were training exercises,
you know, group formations, people marching around training for the military.
People were outside, you know, regardless, because during wartime that's
where you are a lot of time, civilians and military folks,
(04:31):
and so immediately after that, immediately after the war, we
saw the numbers drop back down. Nineteen forty five had
only two hundred and sixty eight, then forty six, two
hundred thirty one. But what's more, weather forecasting wasn't what
it is today, right.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Right, Sure, I will tell you that. I with the
one at the golf course, that's the one that gets
me the most. And I know children were involved in
the other one, but they didn't have a warning either.
But the one at the golf course, they did have
a warning system. They just it didn't go off, and
the golfers, even though they could see lightning in the distance,
(05:08):
didn't get off the course because they thought they were
safe because the alarm didn't go off, the siren didn't
go off. But I think the PGA, and you can
back me up on this if it's true, If the
PGA says, if you see lightning, just go right off
the course.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Absolutely, you see the flash, it's time to go. And
I mean you're essentially holding a lightning rod in your
hands if you're out there golfing, right, So, yeah, it
is too best to err on the stet of caution there,
but you're right, And part of the problem is that
even when places do have warning systems, in many cases
people don't want it, they say, and it's not going
to strike. Here are the chance of getting struck by
(05:43):
lightning or about as good as the chance You know
what the chance is, Larry one in fifteen thousy, three
hundred for your lifetime, over the course of your life,
you have wanted fifteen thousand, three hundred chants of being
hit by lightning. Get out of there.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Yeah, no, that's great advice. Absolutely, if you see lightning,
run it doesn't make matter how close it is. Jim Ryan,
ABC News corresponded in Dallas. Thanks so much for that.
I appreciate it. Hopefully people can will heed your word.
Thanks again, have a good weekend.
Well, what is going on. We've had two people killed
by lightning and several cub scouts had to go to
the to the hospital because because of lightning strikes in
our area. Is it happening more this year than in
the past. For that, let's talk to Jim Ryan, ABC
News correspondent in Dallas. Jim, I know you've been looking
(00:21):
into this. What are the lightning strikes for this year?
Are we up for the year?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
We are? Well, we're going to be. We're at a
dozen right now, Larry. We've had twelve so far, including
the two that happened in New Jersey in just the
last couple of weeks. So twelve here we are in
the middle of July. Last year, for all of last
year there were thirteen. So we're easily on page to
exceed last year and probably exceed the year before that
(00:48):
as well, when we had fourteen. This is sort of
an interesting statistic. In twenty sixteen we had sort of
a freak year with forty fatalities all together from lightning strikes.
But since two thousand and six or so, the numbers
have been generally going down. Arry.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Now, there are lightning detectors that you can buy right
and I would imagine that that would be wise for
someplace like a golf course to.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Get sure absolutely even in you know, if you have
a farmer ranch, you have wide open spaces, and I'm
looking at one right now. A company called Scientific Sales
offers one, but so do other companies. This has the
siren system attached to it, it has the lightning detector.
The thing's forty five hundred dollars. And you're right. I mean,
if you have a golf course, or if you have
a swimming pool or some public space where a lot
(01:34):
of people gather, might be a good investment, you know,
especially if you can save a life or two.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
How do they work? How can they tell if lightning
is going to strike?
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Well, they detect electrical field in the air, electrical charges
in the air. Right, it's monitoring for lightning. Can you
can see this? You know, most commercial airliners now have
lightning detection systems on board, so they can see what's
up ahead and in terms of lightning, and they need
to stay away from it for the purpose of hail
(02:05):
for aircraft specifically. But yeah, it detects what's happening in
the air in terms of electrical output within a certain range.
The more expensive ones can catch that lightning thirty forty
miles away, which is great. This less expensive one than
forty five hundred dollars one catches it within twenty miles.
But even a thunderstorm twenty miles away can cause lightning
(02:29):
that strikes you twenty miles away. So it's worth doing something.
I mean, and there's something called the thirty thirty rule
that the National Weather Service has Larry. If you see
the flash of lightning and then you hear the thunder
up to thirty seconds later, so you hear it ten seconds, fifteen,
(02:50):
twenty seconds later, it's time to head for cover, and
not just under a tree. Getting into a car is
a good idea. Getting into a building is a better idea,
but getting out of the open. The thirty thirty rule
right thirty you see the flash, hear the lightning, You
see the flash, here the thunder within thirty seconds. Time
to go wow.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Thirty seconds. Yeah, I had always heard like five and
thirty seconds. That means how far away would it be
at that point.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
That says that it's six miles out? But you know,
I think that you're better off to as you do
err on the side of caution. I mean, if it's
ten fifteen seconds, it's time to go, no matter what.
But they're being very conservative conservative about this with this
thirty thirty rule. I decided to look back a little
ways though. Okay, so here we are sitting at a
(03:37):
dozen this year and kind of hoping that we don't
see anymore looking at twenty sixteen and the forty fatalities
that happened then. So I've did a little historical research here.
Between nineteen get this, between nineteen forty and nineteen forty four,
the annual average for lightning fatalities. Take a guess theory.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Oh, I have no idea.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
One hundred ninety Oh my ny.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
No, I would never have guessed that. I was. I
was thinking it was going to be higher, But I
never would have guessed something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Three hundred ninety people per year on average died from
lightning from nineteen forty to nineteen forty four. What was
happening then, Well, World War Two. So there were training exercises,
you know, group formations, people marching around training for the military.
People were outside, you know, regardless, because during wartime that's
where you are a lot of time, civilians and military folks,
(04:31):
and so immediately after that, immediately after the war, we
saw the numbers drop back down. Nineteen forty five had
only two hundred and sixty eight, then forty six, two
hundred thirty one. But what's more, weather forecasting wasn't what
it is today, right.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Right, Sure, I will tell you that. I with the
one at the golf course, that's the one that gets
me the most. And I know children were involved in
the other one, but they didn't have a warning either.
But the one at the golf course, they did have
a warning system. They just it didn't go off, and
the golfers, even though they could see lightning in the distance,
(05:08):
didn't get off the course because they thought they were
safe because the alarm didn't go off, the siren didn't
go off. But I think the PGA, and you can
back me up on this if it's true, If the
PGA says, if you see lightning, just go right off
the course.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Absolutely, you see the flash, it's time to go. And
I mean you're essentially holding a lightning rod in your
hands if you're out there golfing, right, So, yeah, it
is too best to err on the stet of caution there,
but you're right, And part of the problem is that
even when places do have warning systems, in many cases
people don't want it, they say, and it's not going
to strike. Here are the chance of getting struck by
(05:43):
lightning or about as good as the chance You know
what the chance is, Larry one in fifteen thousy, three
hundred for your lifetime, over the course of your life,
you have wanted fifteen thousand, three hundred chants of being
hit by lightning. Get out of there.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Yeah, no, that's great advice. Absolutely, if you see lightning,
run it doesn't make matter how close it is. Jim Ryan,
ABC News corresponded in Dallas. Thanks so much for that.
I appreciate it. Hopefully people can will heed your word.
Thanks again, have a good weekend.
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