Lightning strike fatalities in the US have dipped to one of the lowest figures in years, and an organization that tallies such incidents suspects the Covid-19 pandemic could help account for the drop.
With barely a week of 2020 to go, the National Lightning Safety Council (NLSC) has recorded 17 deaths from strikes, four fewer than in 2018 and 2019 and less than half of the 2016 total, 40.
According to lightning specialist John Jensenius, coronavirus is among a number of possible factors.
“Our primary source for information on lightning deaths is from broadcast and print media reports,” he said. “With this year’s media coverage primarily focused on the Covid-19 pandemic, the election, social injustice and unrest, and the devastating wildfires in the western US, lightning deaths and injuries did not get their usual coverage.
“Media reports have documented only 12 US lightning deaths, but we’ve learned through other sources of five more. There are likely unreported lightning deaths in other states that we simply don’t know about.”
Jane Elizabeth, a media consultant for several prominent US newspapers, said local newsroom closures, at least 60 nationwide according to the Poynter Institute, and a reduced information flow can also be blamed.
“Public information officers and public officials who normally would notify local media about such incidents also may have been overwhelmed by the urgent events of 2020,” she said.
Florida, the longstanding lightning strike capital of the US, has recorded three fatalities this year, as has Texas, the NLSC said. From 2010 to 2019, Florida recorded 47 deaths, more than double 21 in Texas and almost three times that of Alabama, which recorded 17.
“Florida is the only state that I’ve been able to delve into” Jensenius said. “So it’s a bit disconcerting to find this many lightning deaths that never made an online news report. As with many aspects of 2020, I’m not sure we’ll have an accurate picture of lightning’s impact anytime soon.”
