A bolt of lightning. The latest incident is the sixth lightning fatality of 2023 in the United States, and the first in Nebraska this year. Image by Ron Rev Fenomeno from Pixabay.
A 27-year-old man was struck and killed by lightning in western Nebraska last week while checking on cattle. The report from Garden County, Nebraska, was delayed, having occurred on Wednesday, June 21, before it was reported to the National Lightning Safety Council, according to Lightning Safety Specialist John Jensenius.
The fatality occurred on a day when a complex developed over western parts of the state and pushed to the southwest, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert said.
This is the sixth lightning fatality of 2023 in the United States — all of which have been men — and the first in Nebraska this year. In Nebraska, overall, this is only the second-known lightning fatality in the state since 2006 when a 14-year-old girl was struck by lightning while playing soccer.
The U.S. average number of lightning fatalities through June 25 is six.
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“Ranching and farming are two of the deadliest work-related activities with respect to lightning and have contributed to a combined total of 22 lightning fatalities since 2006,” Jensenius said in a press release. “Ranching has now led to eight of those deaths.”
The other five lightning fatalities included a 48-year-old man who was driving his car in Pennsylvania, two men in Florida — one who was fishing and the other who was working on construction — and two family members in Texas who were walking home from a bus stop.
Meteorological experts anticipate delayed fall transition, heightened wildfire threats, and severe weather outbreaks this autumn. As autumn colors emerge, weather patterns will shift across the United States.
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