Nearly 20 cows killed by single lightning strike in Texas

The day after hundreds of wild reindeer were killed by a lighting strike in central Norway, news emerged that 19 cows were killed by a single lightning strike in Hallsville, Texas, on Sunday night.

The cows had gathered under a large tree to take shelter from the storm when lightning struck the tree.

Witness Victor Benson told KLTV, "All of a sudden, a lightning bolt came down and the cows just fell. In the blink of an eye a lightning bolt, and there was lightning everywhere, but just one (bolt) and it was over."

The dead animals were reportedly given away to neighbors for use as meat.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

While strange, these kinds of incidents aren't unheard of. While Norway was notable for the number of reindeer killed, other recent incidents have been closer to the Texas lightning strike in terms of the number of animals killed.

In May, a dozen cows were killed by lightning on a farm on Missouri and, just a day later, 21 cows were killed by lightning in South Dakota, resulting in a total loss of $45,000 for the cows' owner.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 32 people have been killed by lightning in the United States so far this year.