Lightning is a very real danger, particularly here in Colorado where thunderstorms are common in the spring and summer months.  The chances, while somewhat remote, always exist to be struck by lighting and a new YouTube video appears to show a man being struck not once, but twice.

The amazing video surfaced on YouTube last week and shows the danger lightning presents. People are seen walking with umbrellas in what appears to be inclement weather. About 25 seconds into the video, a man quickly walks along a driveway when suddenly a bright flash occurs and the man falls to the ground. Watch the video below.

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• Learn more about lightning in our story, Lightning 101 – Lightning and lightning safety

After lying prone for a time the man comes to his senses, rises, and stumbles down the driveway. He only makes it a short distance before a second bolt from the blue strikes knocking him down yet again. Amazingly, after lying on the ground for another 20 seconds the man manages to get up and stumble off out of the camera’s view.

As you watch the video you notice a dark spot appearing beneath each place where the man appears to be struck. Speculation in the comments for the video is that it is either a burned spot on the pavement from the intense heat of the lightning or perhaps evidence that the man soiled himself when he was struck.

The writing in the top right corner is in Chinese but the location it was taken is unknown. There is also some debate as to the authenticity of the video as commenters raised a number of questions about the video.

• What do you think? Real or not?  Leave a comment with your thoughts below
  

Severe weather in Colorado brings a variety of conditions with lightning being very common in the Centennial State. From 1980 to 2009, 88 people were killed and 400 injured in the state by lightning. Colorado consistently ranks as one the top states for lightning-related fatalities in the nation. Learn more about lightning and lightning safety in the recommended links below.

While the video portrays an unlikely course of events, it is not outside the realm of possibility. The odds of an individual being struck by lightning in the United States in a given year are 1 in 500,000.  Over a lifetime the odds are 1 in 3,000 which is a sobering statistic.

Rarely however is a person struck more than once with the National Weather Service putting the odds of being struck twice at 1 in 9 million over a lifetime. Mother Nature does not always conform to statistical rules however as Roy Sullivan, a park ranger in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia learned.  Mr. Sullivan holds the Guinness World Record for being struck more times than any other human being – seven times between 1942 and 1977.