Lightning deaths at all-time record low in 2017

Doyle Rice | USA TODAY

Lightning killed fewer Americans last year than any year on record, marking a steady downward trend that experts attribute to more awareness, better lightning-proof construction and fewer people working in farms and fields.

Lightning killed 16 people in 2017, the fewest deaths since accurate records began in 1940, the National Weather Service said. This broke the previous record low of 23, set in 2013, weather service meteorologist John Jensenius said.

The number of people killed by lightning in recent years a far cry from annual lightning deaths decades ago: In the 1940s, for instance, hundreds of people were killed each year by lightning. In 1943 alone, 432 people died.

In 2001, the weather service launched a lightning safety campaign, which included the now well-known phrase "when thunder roars, go indoors." At that time, the nation recorded about 55 lightning deaths a year.

Over the past decade, an average of 27 Americans were killed each year from lightning strikes, Jensenius said. "While we don’t like to see any lightning deaths, the continuing downward trend in yearly fatalities is encouraging," Jensenius added.

Jensenius said increased awareness prompted better lightning safety policy for outdoor sports and recreational organizations.

And when lightning does strike, Jensenius said, better medical treatment and access to automatic external defibrillators "has helped save the lives of lightning strike victims." Roughly 90% of people struck by lightning survive.

The highest number of lightning deaths occurred in Florida, which recorded five fatalities. Alabama followed with three and Colorado, Texas and North Carolina had two each. The other two lightning deaths occurred in Ohio and Puerto Rico. All but one of the victims were male. On average, 79% of lightning victims are male, based on data from 2006 to 2016.

The sharp drop in lightning deaths over the past 75 years " coincides with a shift in population from rural to urban regions," wrote meteorologist Ronald Holle in an article in the Journal of Applied Meteorology.

In the 1940s, "there were many, many more small farmers who were out working in fields," which meant many more chances to be struck by lightning, Jensenius said.

In addition to better lightning safety awareness and medical advances, all phones were corded decades ago, leading to quite a few deaths due to people speaking on the phone. Additionally, there has been better lightning protection, suppression and grounding in electrical and phone lines, he said.