Oklahoma ranks third nationally in annual lightning strikes

Those burn marks on homes and charred spots on apartment buildings might not be from meth labs after all. The Oke reported that the number of structure fires caused by lightning in the state has more than tripled since last year. And Oklahoma ranks third nationally in annual lightning strikes. Heck, lightning is so dang prevalent that our full-contact football team is named after it (not to mention that thunderous NBA franchise).

Earlier this month, lightning reportedly wreaked havoc at Lucille's Restaurant in Mulhall. Meanwhile, an Oklahoma man was recently struck by lightning and died on a New Mexico hunting trip. Just ask Noble's Carl Mize about getting struck by a bolt out of the blue. It hurts like hell.

"It's been like a bright flash and then when I've been knocked out and wake up, it hurts," Mize said, stating the obvious to The Oke (and reminding CFN intern Bucky of last weekend's antics).

"It's like a bad body ache all over once you wake up."

If you're caught in a lightning storm, it's better to tiptoe through the tulips instead of sprawling out spread eagle, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Rick Smith.

"When lightning hits a tree or the ground, it very often spreads out," Smith told The Oke. "And if you're in a boat on the water, you're very exposed to lightning because you're the tallest object around. If the lightning is looking down from the clouds, you may be in its bull's-eye."

Virginia park ranger Roy Cleveland Sullivan, the "Human Lightning Rod," survived a lucky seven lightning strikes before taking his own life in 1983.

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