Dear Tom,
The lightning statistics (men being much more likely to be struck than women) were fascinating. Who would have thought it? What other “hidden” information might those statistics contain?
R. Dukes, Moline, Ill.
Dear R.,
National lightning fatality statistics from 2006, provided by meteorologist Rusty Kapela at the Milwaukee NWS office, do indeed contain additional revealing information.
The lightning-strike deaths in the year (38 men, 10 women) literally scream that the victims ignored the threat: 46 were outdoors, 2 in houses (1 on the telephone); 16 were under trees; 8 in their yards; 2 on a roof; 18 were engaged in outdoor recreation (soccer, jogging, golf, softball, on horseback), 2 were on riding lawn mowers.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
