Comment by jerf

Just for fun: 2023 US electrical power generation was 4,178 terawatt-hours [1], or 1.5e19 joules [2]. Divided by 115 that would be approx. 1.3e17 joules. The Hiroshima bomb was 6e13 joules [3]. Which would leave each of those lightning strikes that can supply the US annual electricity needs as outputting approximately 2200 Hiroshima bomb's worth of energy.

I think we'd have a very different relationship to lightning if each of them were 2200 nuke's worth of energy.

Incidentally, this puts the US electrical power generation per year at 250,000 bombs/year, which is an intriguing way of looking at it.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_of_the_Unit...

[2]: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=4178%20terawatt%20hour...

[3]: https://www.justintools.com/unit-conversion/energy.php?k1=hi...