Thunderstorms are sweeping in from France, with much of Dorset facing heavy rain in the next couple of hours.

Bournemouth Echo:

Here are some facts about thunder and lightning you might not know

1. Lightning CAN strike the same place twice

You've probably heard people say "lightning never strikes the same place twice", which is completely untrue.

According to the Met Office, lightning strikes wherever the best conductor is, no matter how many times it has been struck before.

The chances are higher if the building is tall, pointy and isolated.

The US National Weather Service say that the Empire State Building in New York is hit almost 100 times a year.

A BP garage on Somerford Road in Christchurch was struck by lightning twice in 2014. 

2. Rubber tyres (or shoes) won't protect you from lightning

You will be protected from lightning in the car, and it’s a recommended place to take shelter, but contrary to popular opinion it's not the rubber tyres that will help you but the metal body of the car.  The Met Office say that one of the best places to take cover in a storm is in the car with the windows up.

3. It isn't safer to lie on the ground during the storm

If tall, pointy objects are most likely to be struck by lightning, surely it makes sense to be as flat as possible?

Not according to the Met Office who say if you’re stuck outside the best plan of action is to find low lying land and crouch.

4. You can't have thunder without lightning

Whenever there is thunder there is lightning, even if it isn't raining where you are.

Lightning can strike three miles from the centre of the storm, and sometimes a "bolt from the blue" will strike 10 to 15 miles away, according to the US National Weather Service.

5. There are several names for the phobia of thunder and lightning

They are astraphobia, brontophobia, keraunophobia, or tonitrophobia.

According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, on average three people are killed each year by lightning in the UK, which is fewer than the average in most other countries.

6. Lightning can create fossils, called fulgurites

They're also called 'petrified lightning', which are "natural hollow glass tubes" in sand, silica or soil.

7. Lightning provides enough electricity to run a 100 watt bulb for three months

Even though a lightning strike lasts less then a second, it could power a 100 watt bulb, and heats the air around the strike to five times hotter than the sun's surface, according to the National Geographic.