Struck by lightning? You're probably a man

Lightning strikes outside Lake Havasu City, Ariz., on July 30, 2012. The CDC says men are much more likely than women to be struck and killed by lightning.

Lightning deaths in the U.S. have fallen dramatically over the past four decades but the vast majority of those fatalities are men, the CDC says.

Here's some shocking news from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Men are much more likely than women to be struck and killed by lightning.
In a report released earlier his month, the CDC said lightning deaths overall in the U.S. have fallen dramatically in the past four decades.
During 1968-2010, the CDC said, a total of 3,389 deaths from lightning were recorded, an average of 79 per year. The highest yearly total of deaths from lightning (131) was recorded in 1969, and the lowest total (29) was recorded in 2008 and again in 2010.
Lightning deaths have fallen 78.6 percent for men and 70.6 percent for women in that timeframe.
But, the CDC says, 85 percent of lightning deaths were among males.
The federal agency didn't offer an explanation for why men were so much more likely to be felled by lightning.

In 1998, CNS News noted, the CDC published a report looking at lightning deaths in America between 1980 and 1995. That report said the number of overall lightning deaths has been trending down since the 1950s.
"Possible explanations for the decrease include fewer persons living and working in rural areas, improved warning systems, increased public education about safety regarding lightning, and improved medical care," the report said, according to CNS News.
Slate magazine said overall lightning deaths could be falling because we're all spending more time indoors:
"In 2007, the National Academy of Sciences released a study demonstrating that participation in “nature-based recreation” had dropped 25 percent since 1981. Relatedly, the average American adult communes with some sort of screen for eight hours each day."