Covid and media cuts behind fall in recorded US lightning strike deaths

• Watchdog group finds 17 lightning fatalities in 2020
• Newsroom job losses and coverage priorities suspected

Lightning strike fatalities in the US have dipped to one of the lowest figures in years, and an organization that tallies such incidents suspects the Covid-19 pandemic could help account for the drop.

With barely a week of 2020 to go, the National Lightning Safety Council (NLSC) has recorded 17 deaths from strikes, four fewer than in 2018 and 2019 and less than half of the 2016 total, 40.