A family from central Alabama said they were sitting on their porch just after a family gathering when they heard some thunder and then watched lightning hit the ground right beside one of their cows, who then dropped dead in the pasture.
“We had a stark and vivid demonstration today of why you don’t want to be outside if lightning could be in the area,” the family wrote on Facebook.
The family said it happened on their farm on Sunday, May 15 right as they were wrapping up the gathering and safely got everyone inside the home.
They said one of the family members were looking out the window watching when one of the cows drop dead in the pasture.
“It had been raining with some thunder. We were all safely inside with children and grandchildren, when we heard this loud BOOM of thunder, very close by.”
Lightning struck right beside the cow and killed it “on the spot.” The cow was killed only 100 yards away from the home and, fortunately, no other farm animals were killed during the strike.
“The cow had been struck by lightning, and fell dead, on the spot, within a hundred yards of our front porch. We have never had one hit this close to our home,” the family wrote on Facebook. “We had a stark and vivid demonstration today of why you don’t want to be outside if lightning could be in the area.”
According to the National Weather Service, 11 people were reported being killed by lightning strikes in the U.S. last year and Alabama was ranked in the top 10 states with the most people being killed by lightning between 2010 and 2019.
Weather experts said the farm is located 20 miles northwest of Montgomery, however, there is nowhere safe outside during a thunderstorm, so “when thunder roars, go indoors.”