The odds of being struck by lightning in an 80 year lifetime are roughly 1 in 15,300, but would you want to be that one? Lightning is one of the major causes of storm related deaths in the United States according to NOAA, and according to NWS storm data from 1989-2018, the US has averaged nearly 43 lightning fatalities per year over the last 30 years. What’s really neat about this strike is that it occurred roughly 40-50 miles away from any potential storm that could have sparked this. This just goes to show that lightning can strike just about anywhere if there are any indications of thunderstorms around, despite the fact that there are blue skies overhead. Check out this radar snapshot from a seemingly quiet and sunny, summer afternoon over Cattaraugus county not too far from us: Radar from July 23rd, 2020 at 3:53 PM.ĭo you see the lightning bolt circled in purple? This is a perfect example of a bolt from the blue. Hence, these particularly random lightning strikes are appropriately named, “bolts from the blue.” They have been known to travel distances as far as 25 miles away from the storm. They typically come from the backside of the cloud with an electric charge capable of traveling a very large distance away through clear, blue skies.

It is indeed possible to have lightning strike without the presence of a storm directly over your head, and these strikes are known as “bolts from the blue.”Ī “bolt from the blue” is a flash of lightning that strikes from a thunderstorm from cloud to ground, miles away from the parent or original storm.

Lightning has the potential to strike even when you least expect it, which is why keeping safe during a thunderstorm is so important, and why you always hear us talking about storm and lightning safety during the summertime. We have a phrase for a particularly random group of lightning strikes that appear to come from thin air. Seems impossible right? It’s actually a little more common than you think.

a lightning bolt striking from blue skies.

Blue lightning bolt