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.
In addition, ground current can travels in garage floors with conductive materials. It hits a taller object near them -- like a tree -- and part of the current jumps from the tree to the person.
These two types of indirect strikes are far more likely and far less deadly than a direct strike because the energy is dissipated by the time it gets to you, Cooper said. Lightning isn't like other types of electric currents and its physics are unique, according to Cooper.
That means that lightning hits your body in a different way from when you, say, stick your finger in an electrical socket. Most of the current from a lightning strike actually passes over your skin in a phenomenon called "flashover," said Cooper.
Only a small amount of water actually gets in, and the majority of water splashes out and around the bucket. The heat produced when it passes over the body can cause burns, but the strike lasts for so little time -- just a few microseconds -- that it rarely causes serious burns. When Josiah Wiedman was struck by lightning earlier this month, a bystander who knew how to administer CPR rushed to his aid and revived him.
Many survivors of lightning strikes are left with debilitating injuries that could change them forever, said Jensenius. Lightning strikes can cause many long-term health problems, including muscle soreness, headaches, cognitive problems and nausea. Lightning generally decreases from the southeast to the northwest, except for a few places such as the Rocky Mountains, where topography causes regular thunderstorms during the summer.
Lightning has the ability to send electricity through the metal pipes used for plumbing, electrical wires such as the telephone, and metal reinforcements to concrete floors and walls.
Lightning can occur during any time of the year, but lightning casualties are highest during summer. July is generally the month with the most lightning.
Lightning strikes often occur in the afternoon. In fact, two-thirds of all lightning casualties occur between noon and 6pm.
Lightning most often strikes people who work outside or engage in outdoor recreational activities. More than a third of lightning strike deaths occur on farms. Other common places are industrial locations and private residences. Construction and material handling such as loading and unloading are two of the most common work-related activities where lightning strikes occur.
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