Lightning Strikes Motorcyclist in FL

[Id's_OK]

This is terrible!  Not that it's any better but I hope it isn't anyone we know. 

 

Most of the reports are vague but it was a 45-year-old from Charlotte riding a 2018 Harley.  RIP, brother.

 

Motorcyclist Struck By Lightning on I-95 in FL

 

[RightSpin]

This is the second rider I've heard of having been killed by lightning.  I'm sure there could be more, but it does seem that it's a highly infrequent event.  Having ridden through many lightning storms, I've often wondered if motorcycle riders are somehow attractant to lightning, or if these few cases are just the coincidence of happening to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[szurszewski]

Yikes. I try to avoid riding if there are active lightning strikes or if it seems likely there will be, but it only takes that first one. 

 

I went for a ride with this guy

https://www.kiro7.com/news/motorcycle-rider-hit-lightning/246449379

a few weekends ago - I only know him recently through ADV and didn't know him at all when it happened, but I do remember the story from the news back then. He seems mostly alright now  ...and he's obviously amazingly lucky.

 

 

[Id's_OK]

Yeah, I've had a pretty serious lightning phobia since being almost hit on Mobile Bay many years ago.  So if I'm on a bike or in a boat it's time to find a safe harbor till the storm passes!  Of course, that one time we thought we were a perfectly safe distance from the isolated thunderstorm out on the bay, with clear skies overhead.  Then BOOM!

[Bill_Walker]

I did a google search when I first read about this on FB yesterday, and found several reports of riders hit by lightning.  Also two cases of hikers killed (and several others injured) by lightning in Rocky Mountain National Park just two days apart.  I also recall, but couldn't find, a story of a rider killed by lightning there.  

[Bill_Walker]

On average, 28 people are killed by lightning strikes in the US every year.  But there are things you can do to avoid being one of them: 7 lightning safety tips if you’re caught outside during a thunderstorm (Accuweather link)

[Ken S]

Thanks for the safety tips link, Bill.  We've even had thunder storms in Alaska in recent weeks -- a very unusual occurrence.

[Red]

An Oregon couple where struck a few years back after they pulled over, dismounted, sought shelter under a tree.  Getting under a tree during a lightning storm is a very very bad idea.    They attract lightning.  I saw two men thrown several feet in the air when the pine tree they were sitting under was struck.  Bark flew every which way and the two individuals had some neurological symptoms for about 3 days.