Powerball win or a lightning strike: Which has better odds?
You know the odds of winning the jackpot are slim, but how slim are they really? Here are a few catastrophic events that are actually far, far more likely to happen to you before you strike gold in the lottery.
By
Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Sep 3, 2025 8:39 AM EDT
A rack with cards bettors can use to choose their own numbers to purchase lottery tickets for a drawing of the Powerball lottery at a market in Prospect, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
“I don’t understand why people who play the lottery aren’t more afraid of lightning,” joked comedian Kyle Kinane in his special Trampoline In A Ditch. “If you believe in those odds, shouldn’t you be like, ‘I got 20 bucks on the pick five. Wait, is that a storm?!'" Kinane went on, capping the bit with a two-word expletive meant to suggest sudden fear.
When the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots skyrocket, many Americans begin to ponder their odds.
After all, someone has to win the money, right?
Well, not so fast.
While the odds are obviously long, how often do players realize how seemingly impossible they truly are?
Well, to amend Kinane’s joke from earlier, if you like your good fortune for winning the lottery, then your fear of equally unlikely misfortune by way of "freak" accidents, such as getting struck by lightning or being crushed by a meteorite or getting attacked by a shark, should be downright terrifying.
"Like I said in the bit, you don't get to believe in only good luck. You either believe in luck (both good AND bad), or you don't," Kinane told AccuWeather. "So if you're crossing your fingers for the Powerball, might want to ask Zeus to go easy on your neighborhood while you're at it."
A Mega Millions lottery slip is displayed at Lucky Mart in Chicago on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)
In fact, compared to a 1-in-292 million odds, the likelihood of winning the average Powerball jackpot, getting struck by lightning would seem like a near certainty!
According to the National Weather Service, a person has a 1-in-15,300 chance of getting struck by lightning in their lifetime, defined as an 80-year span. That makes your odds of getting struck by lightning nearly 20,000 times higher than hitting the winning numbers for the next jackpot.
FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2020, file photo, lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland, Calif. Numerous lightning strikes sparked brush fires throughout the region. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
Data from the National Lightning Safety Council shows that an estimated 230 people are injured by lightning strikes each year. In 2024, 13 fatalities in the United States were attributed to lightning strikes, down from the average number of 23 deaths per year (based on estimations from 2012-2021 figures).
By those odds, you are equally likely to be struck by lightning on 250 different occasions as you are to nailing the right lottery numbers, Newsweek reported.
Here are the odds for some other incredibly improbable events that you are still more likely to experience before winning the lottery:
1 in 730,000 in any given year, according to the USGS.
1 in 3.7 million, according to CNBC. Whale Bone Mag adds that those numbers change to 1 in 7 million for Americans living in a landlocked state
1 in 700,000, according to astronomer Alan Harris in Discover Magazine. Those odds are considerably lower for getting struck directly by a meteor, however, dropping to 1-in-1.9 million should a meteor hit Earth.
1 in 112 million, according to "The Book of Odds" by Amram Shapiro. According to data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, an average of four Americans died per year, between 2002 and 2015, due to vending machine mishaps.
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News / Recreation
Powerball win or a lightning strike: Which has better odds?
You know the odds of winning the jackpot are slim, but how slim are they really? Here are a few catastrophic events that are actually far, far more likely to happen to you before you strike gold in the lottery.
By Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Sep 3, 2025 8:39 AM EDT
A rack with cards bettors can use to choose their own numbers to purchase lottery tickets for a drawing of the Powerball lottery at a market in Prospect, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
“I don’t understand why people who play the lottery aren’t more afraid of lightning,” joked comedian Kyle Kinane in his special Trampoline In A Ditch. “If you believe in those odds, shouldn’t you be like, ‘I got 20 bucks on the pick five. Wait, is that a storm?!'" Kinane went on, capping the bit with a two-word expletive meant to suggest sudden fear.
When the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots skyrocket, many Americans begin to ponder their odds.
After all, someone has to win the money, right?
Well, not so fast.
While the odds are obviously long, how often do players realize how seemingly impossible they truly are?
Well, to amend Kinane’s joke from earlier, if you like your good fortune for winning the lottery, then your fear of equally unlikely misfortune by way of "freak" accidents, such as getting struck by lightning or being crushed by a meteorite or getting attacked by a shark, should be downright terrifying.
"Like I said in the bit, you don't get to believe in only good luck. You either believe in luck (both good AND bad), or you don't," Kinane told AccuWeather. "So if you're crossing your fingers for the Powerball, might want to ask Zeus to go easy on your neighborhood while you're at it."
A Mega Millions lottery slip is displayed at Lucky Mart in Chicago on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)
In fact, compared to a 1-in-292 million odds, the likelihood of winning the average Powerball jackpot, getting struck by lightning would seem like a near certainty!
According to the National Weather Service, a person has a 1-in-15,300 chance of getting struck by lightning in their lifetime, defined as an 80-year span. That makes your odds of getting struck by lightning nearly 20,000 times higher than hitting the winning numbers for the next jackpot.
FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2020, file photo, lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland, Calif. Numerous lightning strikes sparked brush fires throughout the region. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
Data from the National Lightning Safety Council shows that an estimated 230 people are injured by lightning strikes each year. In 2024, 13 fatalities in the United States were attributed to lightning strikes, down from the average number of 23 deaths per year (based on estimations from 2012-2021 figures).
By those odds, you are equally likely to be struck by lightning on 250 different occasions as you are to nailing the right lottery numbers, Newsweek reported.
Here are the odds for some other incredibly improbable events that you are still more likely to experience before winning the lottery:
Yellowstone erupting
1 in 730,000 in any given year, according to the USGS.
Being eaten by a shark
1 in 3.7 million, according to CNBC. Whale Bone Mag adds that those numbers change to 1 in 7 million for Americans living in a landlocked state
Being killed by a meteorite
1 in 700,000, according to astronomer Alan Harris in Discover Magazine. Those odds are considerably lower for getting struck directly by a meteor, however, dropping to 1-in-1.9 million should a meteor hit Earth.
Death by vending machine
1 in 112 million, according to "The Book of Odds" by Amram Shapiro. According to data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, an average of four Americans died per year, between 2002 and 2015, due to vending machine mishaps.
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Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
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