Imagine being struck by lightning not once, but twice. It sounds like something out of a movie, right? But for Jeanne Barnes, a Kimberley artist, this is her reality. And this is the part most people miss—lightning strikes are far more common than you think, and they can happen to the same person more than once. Here’s her incredible story, along with some eye-opening facts that might just change how you view stormy weather.
When dark clouds gather over Kununurra, a remote town in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, Jeanne Barnes feels a chill down her spine. 'If there’s lightning, I’m inside in seconds,' she admits. 'I don’t think I’ll tempt fate a third time.' Her caution is well-earned, as she’s part of an exclusive—and unlucky—club: the one in nine million people struck by lightning twice.
The first strike happened when Jeanne was just 12, living in a tin-roofed house atop a hill in South Africa. She was chatting on a landline phone with her fox terrier, Lulu, curled up on her lap. 'One moment I was talking, and the next, it felt like someone slammed a plank into the side of my head,' she recalls. The force was so intense that Lulu went flying. 'I’m still not sure if I jumped or was thrown across the room,' she adds. The aftermath left Jeanne with a ringing ear and a traumatized dog who would panic at the sound of thunder for the rest of her life. 'Poor Lulu was never the same,' Jeanne says with a hint of sadness.
But here’s where it gets controversial—lightning doesn’t just strike the same person twice; it can, and it did. At 18, during a fierce electrical storm, Jeanne’s landline rang. Knowing it was her boyfriend, she thought, 'What are the odds?' and decided to answer quickly. 'I figured I’d just say, 'I’ll call you back, there’s lightning,' and hang up,' she explains. But fate had other plans. The second strike was even more brutal, hurling her against a wall and causing temporary hearing loss. 'I screamed to my parents, 'My ear, my ear, my ear!' I thought it had been burned off,' she recalls. While the experience didn’t end her relationship, it did leave her with a deep respect for thunderstorms.
Globally, lightning strikes 44 times every second—that’s 8 million strikes daily. Jessica Lingard from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology notes that while the odds of being struck are low, the risk is real. 'If you can hear thunder, you’re close enough to be in danger,' she warns. Areas like the Kimberley, with its dramatic wet season storms, are particularly prone. 'Darwin is Australia’s lightning capital, but the entire tropical north sees its fair share,' Lingard adds.
And this is the part most people miss—lightning is 'lazy.' It takes the path of least resistance, so tall objects like trees, buildings, or flagpoles are prime targets. Lingard stresses that using a landline during a storm is a bad idea. 'The phone cables can conduct electricity, sending it straight through you,' she explains. That’s exactly what happened to Jeanne in the 80s, leaving her with a lifelong fear of storms—and a story she’ll never forget. 'It’s my go-to tale,' she laughs.
So, what do you think? Is Jeanne’s story a reminder to take storms seriously, or just an extraordinary stroke of bad luck? Let us know in the comments—and next time you hear thunder, you might just think twice before reaching for that landline.
