Over 30 cows were killed during a storm that hit a farm in northern Alabama last week.
Per AL.com, beef cattle took shelter from a severe storm under a tree on Saturday, July 1 at Daymin Gardner's farm in Berlin, when lightning struck the tree and killed at least 31 of them. In a photo shared by Cullman Daily on Facebook, as seen below, the cattle died around the tree in a small group.
In an interview with WVTM, the farmer's brother, Tim Gardner, said that the meat on the cows was not salvageable and they would be given a proper burial.
A Level 2 risk for severe weather was issued in northern Alabama over the weekend by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center. The risk indicated that scattered severe storms were possible on Saturday. The region was hit with heavy rain, lightning, wind, and hail. It is generally dangerous to be near isolated tall trees, towers, or poles during a thunderstorm. Approximately 1000,000 cows are killed by lightning each year.
According to the National Weather Service, approximately 20 people die from lightning strikes a year in the United States. There have been six lightning fatalities in 2023 so far, including a six-year-old who was struck while walking home from a bus stop in Texas.
The recent weather warning isn't the first time Alabama has been hit with severe weather this year. Almost 30 people died after tornadoes and intense storms hit the south of the U.S. in March. At least one of the people died in Alabama, while most of the deaths were recorded in the neighboring state of Mississippi. Approximately 60,000 electricity customers in the two states and Tennessee were without power for an extended time due to the tornados.
