Why Do Some People Survive Lightning Strikes Multiple Times?

Is it coincidence, biology, or something stranger?

Lightning is supposed to be the definition of a one-in-a-lifetime event. Then you find the stories that break your brain: a park ranger recorded as being struck seven times, a man in South Carolina whose family said lightning “found” him again and again, and modern beach incidents where one bolt injures several people in seconds.

So what’s going on? Is there a rare biological “lightning magnet” trait? Or is it something far more ordinary—and far more preventable?

Let’s pull this out of the fog and into the facts.

First: Surviving a lightning strike is more common than people think

Lightning can be fatal, but it often isn’t. U.S. National Weather Service safety data notes that only about 10% of people struck by lightning are killed—meaning many survive, sometimes with serious long-term injuries. National Weather Service+1

That survival rate is one reason repeat cases are even possible. If lightning killed most victims, “multiple strikes” would be almost unheard of.

A real-world reminder (with a clock on it)

On July 4, 2025, a lightning strike near a family at St. Pete Beach, Florida, sent a 17-year-old to the hospital just before 12:30 p.m., according to officials. Bay News 9+1

That detail matters because it shows how quickly routine decisions—standing under an umbrella, staying on sand when thunder is nearby—can turn into a medical emergency. It also shows the key theme of this article: lightning doesn’t “choose” people… but people can end up repeatedly in the wrong conditions.

The biggest reason people get struck more than once: exposure, not destiny

Lightning repeat survivors often share one simple trait: they spend a lot of time outdoors in storm-prone places.

If you’re frequently outside for work or hobbies—parks, farms, golf courses, construction sites, fishing, boating—you increase the number of “lottery tickets” you’re buying against a thunderstorm.

NOAA’s lightning safety guidance is blunt: when thunder roars, go indoors, and stay there 30 minutes after the last thunder. noaa.gov+1
People who don’t (or can’t) follow that rule regularly are more likely to have close calls—repeatedly.

Case study: Roy Sullivan, the “seven strikes” ranger

Guinness World Records credits Roy C. Sullivan, a Shenandoah National Park ranger, with surviving seven lightning strikes, reported between April 1942 and June 1977. Guinness World Records+2Guinness World Records+2

Notice what’s hiding in plain sight: his job placed him outdo