In-flight. A 50’ tall building in an average lighting activity has a .25 probability of being struck in any given year. Fact: Lightning is indiscriminate and it can find you anywhere. Lightning Strikes Empire State Building March 29, 2019. 4. 240,000: Injuries a year from lightning. 10 3. 24,000: Deaths a year from lightning. 23 4. The Washington Monument is struck by lightning in many years, and sometimes multiple times, but to witness and photograph a direct strike is rare. The Empire State Building was once used as a lightning laboratory because it is hit nearly 25 times per year, and has been known to have been hit up to a dozen times during a single storm. Lightning causes an estimated $5 billion in property damage per year in the US. Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela is the place on Earth that receives the most lightning strikes. 3. The odds of being struck in a given year are closer to that one-in-a-million mark, though: 1 in 1,222,000. Myth #2 – Lightning only strikes the tallest objects. About 1 in 200 houses are struck by lightning every year. 74 Step 2 : Answer to the question "About how many times each year does lightning strike the Empire State Building? The most lightning-struck location in the world. Lightning Oddities. 20: Percentage of those instances in which lightning strikes the ground. 50: Times per second lightning occurs worldwide. Various factors can affect your level of risk, including whether there are higher structures nearby (metal light poles can have a protective effect), the local climate, etc. 2018: A lightning strike killed at least 16 people and injured dozens more at a Seventh-Day Adventist church in Rwanda. The Federal Aviation Administration estimates that commercial jet airliners in the US are struck by lightning once every 1,000 flight hours, or once each year, on average. Over the last decade, Florida led the nation in flashes per square mile — an average of 20.8 each year. Airplanes are commonly struck by lightning without damage, with the typical commercial aircraft hit at least once a year. Massive thunderstorms occur on 140-160 nights per year with an average of 28 lightning strikes per minute lasting up to 10 hours at a time. Planes can even trigger lightning themselves by flying through ionized clouds. Lightning in an average year kills 58 people in the US. Lightning strikes the continental US 90,000,000 times per year. On average this region receives 158 lightning strikes per 1 square kilometer (0.39 sq mi) per year. I can speak from experience on the photography part. The Empire State Building was the tallest building in the world from 1931, the year it was built, to 1972, when it lost its title to Chicago’s Willis Tower.Its towering height makes it a target for multiple lightning strikes every year. 2 2. While lightning strikes seem to be no big deal in cartoons and kids’ movies, the reality is a little more shocking. Many survivors of lightning strikes report that right before being struck their hair was standing on end and they had a metallic taste in their mouth. Step 1 : Introduction to the question "About how many times each year does lightning strike the Empire State Building?...1. However, sometimes the effects of a strike are serious. That's as many as 40,000 lightning strikes in one night!