Video Captures Lightning Striking Empire State Building 3 Times

lightning stikes the empire state building in 1934. — The Empire State Building is no stranger to lightning, as this 1934 photo shows.

(Image credit: NOAA.)

New York City's lightning rod of a building — the Empire State Building — was struck by lightning three times in a row last night. Like a typical New Yorker, the building was not impressed.

The Empire State Building is hit by lightning quite often and its antenna was designed to double as a lightning rod. As the tallest building in New York, it soars 1,454 feet (443 meters) to the top of its antenna. Lightning can't resist such an attractive target. When last night's storm rolled in, three amazing strikes were captured on video. [In Images: Electric Earth]

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In Florida, where lightning is more common, a 1,000-foot-tall (300 m) building might average hundreds of strikes a year, Uman said. New York State is considered to have a "moderate" occurrence of lightning, with 3.8 strikes occurring per square mile each year, according to the New York City government's website. This compares to 20 strikes per square mile in Florida, and two in California. (One square mile is about 2.5 square kilometers.)

That's exactly what the building's engineers had hoped for. The antenna was designed to serve as a lightning rod for the surrounding area and can prevent electrical damage to the building and its neighbors, according to the city government's website. Lightning is usually attracted to the tallest object because it is the easiest path for the lightning to take, according to the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), in Norman, Okla.

Brett Israel was a staff writer for Live Science with a focus on environmental issues. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from The University of Georgia, a master’s degree in journalism from New York University, and has studied doctorate-level biochemistry at Emory University.