Astraphobia is the fear of thunder and lightning. In comparison to other types of phobias, it effects a very large amount of the population, especially young children. According to fearof.net, a website that tracks fears and phobias, it’s the 6th most common fear in the world. That spot places it ahead of claustrophobia and both the fear of flying and public speaking!
If you happen to be one of the millions who are affected by thunderstorms, and lightning in particular, you may want to skip this video. It was captured by Clint Blevins and shows the moment that lightning struck the water off the coast of Daytona Beach, Florida. As rain falls all around a huge electric bolt suddenly comes out of seemingly nowhere, it spiders down from the storm clouds above and strikes the ocean surface, lighting up the sky! As the electricity from the lightning bolt fizzles away it leaves a faint trail of smoke or vapor behind in the air. Thanks to the clip being in slow motion, and shot from only a couple hundred yards away, we get to see details like this that otherwise we’d miss out on.
After watching that and when you look at the numbers, having a healthy dose of fear towards lightning may be a good thing since it means you avoid it at all costs. The odds of being stuck by lightning change yearly but National Geographic News places the odds at 1 in 700,000 for any given year. Over the course of the average persons lifetime the chances of being struck skyrocket to 1 in 3,000. To put those odds in perspective, you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than winning the Powerball lottery or being killed by a shark!
Make sure to check out the video because Mr. Blevin’s lightning strike footage is absolutely incredible. It showcases the immense power and sheer force behind one of mother nature’s most beautiful and scary displays!
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