The toll could be even worse since studies indicate that many lightning accidents are not reported. Lightning also causes most forest and rangeland fires in Colorado. This situation usually occurs when lightning is generated from thunderstorms which produce little or no rainfall. More than 40 million lightning strikes occur every year in the contiguous United States. Each lightning stroke contains millions of volts of electricity, enough to supply power to several homes for a month.
Lightning is unpredictable and occasionally behaves in a strange manner.
It can destroy one object without touching another one nearby. Lightning can also hit something such as a tree and then travel across the ground electrocuting anything in its path. Lightning normally strikes the tallest object in an area, and is particularly attracted to metal as well as objects on or near water. Most lightning fatalities occur outdoors, most notably under or near tall trees, in or on water, or on hilltops. Lightning can strike the ground up to 10 miles away from the thunderstorm.