Last week was Lightning Safety Awareness Week across the United States. And while there was no national holiday, it is the time of year to take notice of nature's most dangerous beast. Lightning kills an average of 73 people each year. That's more than the annual number of deaths from tornadoes or hurricanes. (Last year lightning killed 51 people.)

One of its most dangerous aspects is that a lightning bolt can strike you even if you are 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. These so-called "bolts from the blue" catch people off guard.

There are about 25 million cloud-to-ground lightning flashes each year, so there is plenty of opportunity to be in danger. Even if the visible lightning bolt hits a few hundred feet away, the electrical current can travel along the ground and injure you.

So where is a safe place? Indoor is the safest, as long as you are not talking on the phone. (Cordless and wireless phones are okay.) Try to stay away from electrical appliances, too.

Houses do have their risks, however. Lightning struck a house in Denver, went down the chimney, blew the plaster off the living room walls, shredded the curtains, smashed a clock and left a caged canary totally untouched. Lucky bird! A not-so-lucky resident near Chicago was sleeping in bed when lightning hit the house, traveled through the cable television line into the house, setting the bed on fire. The person survived but was treated for shock.

Many people believe you are safe from lightning in your car because the rubber in the tires will insulate you. Yes, you are safe in your car, provided all of the windows are rolled up and you remain totally inside the car. But the tires won't protect you. That small amount of rubber won't stop the huge surge of electricity. However, the metal body on the outside of the car offers protection by allowing a path for the current of electricity.

A lightning bolt directly hit a car travelling along I-35 near Des Moines. The car stopped immediately but the driver was uninjured. The car had major electrical damage, many holes in the body and four flat tires. The road beneath the car had a one-yard-wide, several-inches deep crater. Yes, you guessed it. The driver's first name was Rod. (No kidding!)

Despite the tremendously high temperature of a lightning bolt, its formation is due to ice. Electrical charge in a thunderstorm is due to the freezing and melting processes of ice in the presence of snow and water droplets. Ice particles in a storm vary in size, but the rising and sinking motion due to the updrafts and downdrafts of wind within the storm cause many collisions between the particles. This causes a separation of electrical charges. When the difference in charge builds up to a certain point, a bolt of lightning results.

Watch Vince Condella on Fox 6 Sunday through Thursday at 5, 6, 9 and 10 p.m. You can see the FOX 6 weather forecast around the clock at www.fox6milwaukee.com