“Lightning never strikes the same place twice.” It’s one of the most repeated weather sayings in the world — and it’s completely false. The Empire State Building is hit by lightning an average of 23 times a year. It’s also just one of several lightning myths that refuse to die, some of which are genuinely dangerous to believe. Here’s what NOAA and the National Weather Service actually say, myth by myth.
Key Takeaways
- Lightning frequently strikes the same location repeatedly, especially tall, pointy, isolated objects — height, shape, and isolation determine strike location, not “turns.”
- You can be struck by lightning even under a blue sky: bolts have been recorded 10–15 miles from the parent storm.
- Rubber tires and rubber-soled shoes provide no protection from lightning; a hard-topped vehicle is safe because of its metal shell, not its tires.
- Trees are the second-leading cause of lightning casualties, not a safe shelter.
- Crouching outdoors does not reduce your risk; the National Weather Service stopped recommending it in 2008.
- It is completely safe to touch a lightning strike victim — the human body does not store an electrical charge.
Myth 1: Lightning Never Strikes the Same Place Twice
Myth: Once lightning hits a spot, it’s somehow used up its turn there.
Fact: Lightning strikes the same place repeatedly, especially tall, pointed, isolated objects. The Empire State Building is struck an average of 23 times a year, and lightning rods work on exactly this principle — they’re designed to be struck again and again so the building itself isn’t. What determines a strike location isn’t luck or turn-taking; it’s height, shape, and isolation, which is why skyscrapers, radio towers, and lone trees in open fields get hit far more often than a house in a suburban block.
Myth 2: You’re Safe From Lightning If It Isn’t Raining or the Sky Above You Is Blue
Myth: No rain overhead means no lightning risk.
Fact: This is sometimes called a “bolt from the blue,” and it’s real: lightning can strike more than three miles from the center of a storm, with documented cases 10 to 15 miles away, well outside the rain shaft and sometimes under a clear blue sky. The National Weather Service’s rule of thumb is simple: if you can hear thunder, you’re already close enough to be struck. Waiting for rain to start — or for clouds to look threatening enough — means waiting too long.
Myth 3: Rubber Tires and Rubber-Soled Shoes Protect You From a Strike
Myth: Rubber insulates you from lightning, so cars and sneakers keep you safe.
Fact: Rubber tires and rubber-soled shoes provide no meaningful protection from a lightning strike, whose voltage is measured in the hundreds of millions to over a billion volts and will not be stopped by a few millimeters of rubber. A hard-topped vehicle is genuinely one of the safer places to be during a storm, but for a completely different reason: its metal shell conducts the current around the occupants and into the ground, the same principle behind a Faraday cage. A convertible, a golf cart, or a motorcycle offers none of that protection.
Myth 4: Crouching Down Makes You Safer Outdoors
Myth: If you can’t get to shelter, crouch low to the ground with your feet together.
Fact: The National Weather Service formally dropped this recommendation in 2008. Crouching does not meaningfully reduce your risk and can create a false sense of security that delays people from doing the one thing that actually helps: getting to a substantial building or hard-topped vehicle as quickly as possible.
Myth 5: A Tree Is a Good Place to Shelter From a Storm
Myth: Standing under a tree keeps you dry and out of the strike zone.
Fact: Being underneath or near a tree is the second-leading cause of lightning casualties, behind being caught in the open. Tall trees are exactly the kind of isolated, elevated object lightning preferentially strikes, and a strike can travel down the trunk and “splash” outward through the ground or side-flash to anyone standing nearby.
Myth 6: Wearing Metal or Jewelry Attracts Lightning
Myth: Metal jewelry, underwire bras, or a metal belt buckle draw lightning toward you.
Fact: Small amounts of metal on your body have no meaningful effect on where lightning strikes. Height, pointy shape, and isolation are what matter, the same factors that make skyscrapers and lone trees frequent targets. A metal roof, a large antenna, or a wire fence stretching across open ground is a different story, but your watch or belt buckle is not pulling a bolt out of the sky.
Myth 7: You’re Completely Safe Once You’re Inside a Building
Myth: Once indoors, the storm is someone else’s problem.
Fact: A substantial building with wiring and plumbing is genuinely one of the safest places to be, but “safe” isn’t “invulnerable.” Lightning can travel through a building’s electrical wiring, corded phone lines, and metal plumbing, which is why the National Weather Service also recommends avoiding corded phones, electrical appliances, and running water (including showers and baths) during a storm.
Myth 8: It’s Dangerous to Touch a Lightning Strike Victim
Myth: A lightning victim is still “charged” and touching them will shock you.
Fact: The human body does not store electricity. It is completely safe to touch someone who has been struck by lightning, and doing so promptly to begin first aid or CPR can be lifesaving, since cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in lightning strikes and immediate treatment dramatically improves survival odds.
Myth 9: Lying Flat on the Ground Is the Safest Position Outdoors
Myth: If a strike seems imminent, lying flat minimizes your exposure.
Fact: Lying flat increases your contact with the ground and your exposure to ground current, which spreads outward from a strike point and causes a large share of lightning injuries to people who were never hit directly. Moving quickly toward real shelter is safer than dropping to the ground and waiting it out.
What Actually Determines Where Lightning Strikes?
Once you strip away the myths, the real pattern is straightforward: lightning takes the path of least resistance to the ground, and tall, pointed, isolated objects offer exactly that. That’s the same charge-separation process we broke down in how lightning forms — as the charge in a storm cloud builds, it’s the height and isolation of objects below, not superstition, luck, or what you’re wearing, that decide where the discharge finally connects.
How to Actually Stay Safe During a Thunderstorm
The practical version of all nine myths above comes down to one habit: treat thunder as your cue to move indoors immediately, not a countdown you can wait out. Once inside a substantial building or hard-topped vehicle, stay away from corded electronics and plumbing until well after the storm has passed. If you want to see a storm’s position and track before it arrives rather than relying on the sound of thunder alone, our live lightning map shows strikes updating in real time, and our guide to what causes thunderstorms covers how these systems form and move in the first place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can lightning really strike the same place twice?
Yes, routinely. Tall, pointed, isolated structures are struck repeatedly — the Empire State Building averages 23 strikes a year — which is the entire principle behind lightning rods.
How far from a storm can lightning strike?
Documented lightning strikes have occurred 10 to 15 miles from the parent thunderstorm, often under clear or blue sky. If you can hear thunder, you are within striking distance.
Is it safe to shower or do laundry during a thunderstorm?
No. The National Weather Service recommends avoiding showers, baths, and running water during a thunderstorm, since lightning can travel through a building’s metal plumbing.
Do rubber-soled shoes or rubber tires protect against lightning?
No. Rubber provides no meaningful insulation against a lightning strike. A car is relatively safe due to its metal shell directing current around the occupants, not because of its tires.
Is it safe to touch someone who has just been struck by lightning?
Yes. The human body does not store electrical charge, so touching a lightning strike victim to administer first aid or CPR is completely safe and can save their life.
Related reading: How Does Lightning Form? The Physics of a Lightning Strike · What Causes Thunderstorms? The Science Behind Storms · Live Lightning Map
Sources: National Weather Service, Lightning Myths (weather.gov/safety/lightning-myths); NOAA, “5 Striking Facts Versus Myths About Lightning You Should Know”; NOAA JetStream, Lightning Safety.
