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SIDEBAR

US Park Ranger Roy Cleveland Sullivan (now deceased) holds the Guinness World Record distinction of being struck by lightning seven times while serving as a ranger in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. Sullivan survived every time. His fellow rangers called him the Human Lightning Rod. Sullivan was known for posing for pictures with his ranger hat that had a clear burn mark on it from one of the strikes.

miles away. If you are a passenger on a plane during a thunderstorm, you can be hit with a TGF. However, TGFs are very rare and scientists think the radiation dose is generally harmless, about the same as a CT medical scan. You cannot have a thunderstorm without thunder, but lightning can occur even without a thunderstorm. Ancient peoples of the earth have been observing lightning for millennia. In fact, lightning is one of the oldest observed natural phenomena on the planet.

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The New Weather: Extreme Weather