Florida has twice as many lightning casualties as any other state, NASA says. Sunday has 24 percent more deaths than any other day, probably because of the crowded golf courses. If you see a flash of lightning and hear a clap of thunder you can tell roughly how many miles away it is by dividing the number of seconds between the lightning and the thunder by five. If the two happen simultaneously, and you're outside, follow the advice above. A former science writer for the Los Angeles Times , he now lives in Juneau, Alaska.
Scientists finally have a good idea of how and why it occurs.
A single bolt of lightning delivers about 1 trillion watts of electricity. Click here for Terms of Use and Privacy Policy applicable to this site.