LIGHTNING: Lightning is pretty neat to watch, but never forget it can be extremely dangerous.

We found this reminder at the website for Farmers Almanac, www.farmersalmanac.com/lightning-safety-11041.

According to the National Weather Service, lightning kills an average of 24 people per year in the United States and hundreds more are injured. There are an estimated 25 million cloud-to-ground lightning flashes each year.

Lightning usually claims only one or two victims, and doesn’t cause mass casualties like tornadoes or hurricanes, so it generally receives much less attention than the more destructive weather-related killers. While documented lightning injuries in the United States average about 300 per year, undocumented injuries caused by lightning are likely much higher.

How likely are you to be struck by a lightning bolt? About 1 in 500,000.

It is estimated that 10 percent of those struck by lightning die of their injuries, usually from a heart attack. But many factors make you more or less likely to be injured, or to be one of the 50 or so people who are killed by lightning in the US annually.

You are less likely to be struck by lightning if you are a woman, child, or senior citizen.

According to the CDC, men account for 85 percent of those struck by lightning, and about half of victims are in the 15 – 34 age group. That’s because most strikes happen to people working or pursuing leisure activities outside, and men are more likely to be in those situations.

Interestingly, though, the age group least struck by lightning is 30-39 years, most likely because people in that age group have young families and are more careful to avoid being caught in a storm.