Lightning Deaths are Rare in South Dakota: How to Stay Safe

As Sioux Falls was battered by storms the last few nights, my family and I were getting in touch with our Midwest roots by standing in the open garage and watching the storms.

Along with the crazy winds and heavy rain, this week's storms have been putting on some awesome lightning shows. The thunder wasn't too bad either, especially Monday night, when the storm was growling.. But the lightning was the star of the performance.

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While we were watching the storm and recording video to show off to our families in Nebraska, we got talking about lightning.

Lightning is a release of electrostatic energy caused by the unstable nature of thunderstorms. Basically, a giant electric shock within storm clouds, or between the clouds and the ground. It's super powerful and very hot.

How Lightning Forms in Storms

"In a thunderstorm, lightning is created as a discharge of built up energy due to the separation of positive and negative charges which are generated inside the thunderstorm...The formation of ice in a cloud appears to be very important in the development of this charge separation and ultimately of lightning," - NWS Flagstaff, AZ 

What Makes Lightning So Dangerous?

While the exact mechanisms of creating lightning are still being studied, one thing we do know is that getting struck by lightning is very dangerous. It seems like it's the only weather phenomenon that nearly everyone respects. The world keeps going in the rain and snow, but at the first sign of lightning, the game is over, and the pool empties.

It makes sense. Lightning can release 200 megajoules to 7 gigajoules of energy. As in, 'mega’ means big and ‘giga’ means even bigger! A bolt of lightning can heat the air to over 50,000 degrees. Not fun.

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It seems that our collective agreement that lightning should be avoided at all costs has paid off. U.S. deaths from lightning strikes have dropped dramatically over the last few decades. In 1944, there were 419 deaths caused by lightning in the United States. The number of fatalities then drops every year after. In 2024, when there were just 10.

Real-Life Lightning Tragedies in South Dakota

With all our thunderstorms in South Dakota, you'd think lightning killing people would be pretty common. But, in SD, we are lucky...or smart...or both, because since 2011, there have only been two lightning deaths in South Dakota. One in 2011 and one in 2015.

LOOK: See The Shocking Moment Lightning Strikes Minnesota Home

Both of those deaths occurred West River, in or near the Black Hills. On Wednesday, August 3, 2011, 57-year-old Kurt Stolba from Iowa was riding his motorcycle on I-90 near Wasta, SD, in Pennington County when he was struck and killed by lightning.

"Witnesses reported that a bolt of lightning struck Stolba. His motorcycle drifted to the right shoulder of the roadway and struck the guard rail. Stolba, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, was thrown from the motorcycle. He died while being transported to a Rapid City hospital," - South Dakota Highway Patrol Press Release, August 4, 2011.

On Sunday, August 12, 2015, a 21-year-old man was struck dead by lightning while playing at the Spearfish Canyon Disc Golf Course in the northern Black Hills. Rawlins, Wyoming, native Gage McSpadden was a Black Hills State University student when he died. McSpadden was struck directly by lightning, and a fellow student got an indirect hit. Both were taken to a hospital in Denver, where McSpadden passed.

Black Hills State holds the annual Gage McSpadden Memorial run to honor McSpadden, who was an active athlete at the school.

RELATED: Black Hills State Student Dies After Being Hit by Lightning (Jul 16, 2015)

While lightning is very dangerous, getting struck is pretty rare. The average person has about a one in 15,000 chance of getting struck in their lifetime. Then, only about 10% of strikes are deadly.

The National Weather Service (NWS) says that part of what makes lightning so dangerous is that "NO PLACE outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area." If you hear thunder, lightning is close, so get inside.

If you can't get inside in time, the NWS says to reduce your risk by getting off the high ground, staying away from water, and objects that conduct electricity. They add that you should never lie flat on the ground or hide under a single tree or a cliff, or a rocky overhang. If you are outside, the only thing to do is to try to get to shelter.

"Run to a substantial building or hard-topped vehicle. If you are too far to run to one of these options, you have no other good alternative. You are NOT safe anywhere outdoors," - NWS

Lightning is one of the most dangerous parts of a thunderstorm. There are no warnings for a lightning strike. Every thunderstorm produces lightning, and a strike can happen anywhere at any time, even repeatedly. The only move when the lightning comes is to get inside.