Can the lightening strike at the same point twice? and if so how?

Question

I always wondered about this natural phenomenon and curious to know if it is possible ?

Answer 1

It depends on your definition of a point. Famous golfer Lee Trevino has been struck twice on different golf courses. He could qualify as a point as well as many of the large buildings in the country that are struck by lightening many times each year.

However, if you are into itty-bitty things, the possibility of lightening striking the same atomic particle twice is very remote and has not been proven to have occurred. All of the particles in Lee's body were probably affected by each strike but, which particle was initially struck and whether or not that particle is still a part of his body is not known.

It's pretty safe to say that lightening doesn't strike in the same place twice.

Answer 2

Absolutely possible. That's what lightning rods are for on many tall buildings. They are designed to attract the lightning to them instead of hitting other objects in the area.

Electricity by nature will always seek the nearest grounding point. So if one building is taller than any others it will experience many strikes, sometimes during the same storm. As pointed out in previous posts the Empire State Building is a good example. As is the Sears Tower, Big Ben in London and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. All of these have been struck thousands if not millions of times.

Answer 3

It happens all the time. The Empire State building gets struck like... 100000 times a year. Phenomenon; I think not. The Empire State building is really tall, Lightning always strikes the taller objects. They're usually metal, too, which attracts & conducts electricity.

Answer 4

Definitely Yes, lightening strikes the empire state building all of the time, in fact they even make buildings for that, so that they don't strike houses and things like that. It usually strikes the highest point in an area, which probably doesn't change that often.

Answer 5

Yes, its possible. As a matter of fact, I think there is a probability question that has to do with that. If you consider each lightning strike as a separate incident (and consider environmental factors, of course) there is an equal chance for each lightning strike to hit any point on earth. Therefore, after one lightning strike is over, the next one is just as likely to hit point A (where it hit before) as point B (any other ambiguous point.)
I'm no mathematician though, feel free to correct me if you are and I am wrong!

Answer 6

Yes, it can. The most famous example is the Empire State Building, but there are also other buildings and even trees that have been struck twice by lightning.

Answer 7

Sure why not. It is just electricity from the clouds going to something tall. The Empire State building is struck thousands of times a year because it is the tallest building in its area.

Answer 8

It's certainly possible, provided that that point remains the path of least resistance between strikes; it's just that there's so many variables involved in the atmosphere, that conditions don't remain the same for very long....

Answer 9

yes, lightning can strike the same point twice. as a matter of fact, there was one person who got struck by lightning twice in his own backyard on 2 different ocassions and he survived it. national geographic and discovery channels have been featuring this phenomenal disasters. try to catch it.

Answer 10

I beleave it can and You should too. If they could tell when
and where it was going to strike, There would be alot less fires,damage, and people hurt. Use your head and don't take any crazy chance like that!