On a sunny afternoon in 2004, nine-year-old Geoff Banninger was walking to a park in Colorado to see his sister play softball. But before he got to the park, Geoff was struck by lightning.
The lightning stopped Geoff’s heart and his breathing. It burned his hear and left a burn line from his head to his foot. It blew his glasses off his face and melted them. It even made a hole in the bottom of his shoe. ”I woke up about a minute later,” says Geoff, “and my mom told me I had been struck by lightning.”
What is lightning? A lightning strike is the result of a buildup of electrical charges inside a cloud. We usually see lightning during stormy weather. But, as Geoff discovered, it can happen even on a sunny day.
Geoff’s legs felt strange after he was hit , but he hasn’t had any further problems since them. ”I’m a lucky guy,” he says. But being lucky is not the only way to ensure your safety during a thunderstorm. You can also follow the 30/30 rule : if you see lightning , and then hear thunder less than 30 seconds later, go inside a building. Then wait30 minutes after the last thunder or lightning before you go buck outside.
So how likely is it you will be hit by lightning?
Fortunately, it is not a common problem. According to the U.S. National Weather Service, your chance of being struck in your lifetime is only 1 in 5000.