Lightning Never Strikes Twice? One Man Was Hit 7 Times — and Lived

Lightning absolutely strikes the same place twice — the Empire State Building is hit ~25 times a year. Meet Roy Sullivan, struck 7 times.

"Lightning never strikes the same place twice" sounds like folk wisdom. In reality, lightning is drawn to the same places repeatedly — tall, isolated, conductive targets get hit over and over. The Empire State Building is struck by lightning roughly 25 times every year. The myth isn't just wrong; it's dangerously backwards.

The Proof: Places Lightning Can't Resist

Target	How often it's struck
Empire State Building, New York	~25 times per year
CN Tower, Toronto	~75 times per year
Any tall isolated structure	Repeatedly — height and isolation attract strikes

Lightning follows the path of least resistance to the ground. Tall buildings, lone trees, and mountaintops are struck again and again precisely because they were struck before — the physics doesn't change between storms.

Roy Sullivan: Struck 7 Times

The ultimate rebuttal is Roy Sullivan, a U.S. park ranger in Virginia who was struck by lightning seven times between 1942 and 1977 — and survived all seven. Guinness World Records recognizes him as the person struck by lightning more times than any other human. His injuries ranged from a burned big toenail to singed hair to a seared shoulder. He died in 1983 of unrelated causes.

Statistically, the odds of being struck in a given year are about 1 in a million (lifetime odds roughly 1 in 15,000–30,000 depending on the estimate); being hit seven times is so improbable it borders on absurd. Yet it happened — because Sullivan worked outdoors in the mountains, the exact behavior that multiplies risk.

What To Actually Do in a Storm

Since lightning does strike twice — often the same tree, shelter, or ridge — the real safety rules matter:

The 30-30 rule: if thunder follows lightning by under 30 seconds, shelter immediately; wait 30 minutes after the last thunder before going out.
No shelter is perfect twice: a tree that was just struck is more likely to be struck again, not less.
Cars and substantial buildings are the safest options; avoid open fields, hilltops, and lone trees.

The myth persists because it feels poetic. The physics doesn't care about poetry — if you're the tallest thing around, lightning will find you, again and again.

More Lightning Myths, Ranked by Wrongness

Myth	Verdict
Lightning never strikes twice	Totally false — tall structures are struck routinely
Rubber shoes protect you	False — lightning already traveled miles through air; your sneakers mean nothing
Lying flat keeps you safe	Mostly false — it increases ground-current exposure; crouching low is better, shelter is best
Metal attracts lightning	Misleading — height and isolation matter far more than metal; a metal roof is actually safer (conducts to ground)
You can't be struck indoors	Mostly true — but avoid corded phones, plumbing, and windows during storms

Roughly 2,000 thunderstorms are in progress around the world at any given moment, producing about 100 lightning strikes per second. With odds like that, "never twice" was never in the cards.

The Science of Where Lightning Strikes

Lightning doesn't choose targets randomly — it follows a rough formula:

Factor	Effect
Height	The tallest object in an area gets hit first, almost always
Isolation	A lone tree in a field is far more dangerous than one in a forest
Moisture	Wet ground and wet objects conduct better
Shape	Sharp points concentrate electric fields (why lightning rods work)

This is why the myth is exactly backwards: the places lightning has struck are, by definition, the places shaped like lightning targets. A scorched tree isn't "safe now" — it's a proven lightning rod. Respect the physics, not the proverb.