What we’ve learned about surviving lightning

About 37 million lightning strikes hit the ground in the United States each year. But the odds of being struck by lightning each year are less than one in a million. Nationally, lightning fatalities have fallen dramatically. In this breakdown, we examine what modern meteorological data reveals about surviving lightning, why old advice like the "lightning crouch" is no longer recommended, how the 30-30 rule has evolved, and the critical steps to take the moment you hear thunder.

The problem is, some of what many of us learned about lightning safety is now outdated. Florida Storms meteorologist Leslie Hudson looks at some lightning facts that may change the way you react the next time you hear thunder. Watch here:

And timing matters, too. About two-thirds of lightning deaths occur between noon and 6 p.m. — a particularly important window in Florida, where afternoon thunderstorms are part of the state’s daily rhythm. Since 2006, only five states — Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, New Hampshire and Washington — as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, have reported no lightning deaths.