A new study by researchers at the University of California in Berkeley predicts that due to the effects of global warming, that number might increase by as much as fifty percent over the next hundred years to reach 30 million.

According to the National Lightning Detection Network, the United States is hit by around 20 million flashes of lightning every year.

A new study by researchers at the University of California in Berkeley predicts that due to the effects of global warming, that number might increase by as much as fifty percent by the end of this century to reach 30 million.

Predicting lightning strikes is harder than other weather conditions, but experts working on the study came up with a method that resulted in an approximately 77 percent accuracy rate predicting actual lightning strikes from 2011.

The novel method used two variables including the precipitation rate, and the convective available potential energy, which is a measurement of atmospheric instability, were used to predict the rate of lightning strikes.

Lead author of the study David Romps, an earth sciences professor at the University of California, Berkeley is quoted as saying: "This is an example of a change that we can expect with global warming that will be quite noticeable."

One of the dangers associated with an increase in lightning strikes is the potential for wildfires and even megafires especially in areas experiencing variable precipitation.

Lightning is also the deadliest weather hazard in the United States, killing an average of fifty people annually.