Can the Statue of Liberty be struck by lightning at it's highest point and can that strike travel all.....?

Question

way down the statue and into the ground. Would the statue need a special kind of grounding?

Answer 1

from the National Park Service website:

Does the Statue of Liberty get struck by lightning?    Yes!  Although the Statue is grounded through the massive concrete and granite base she stands on; the Statue gets struck many times each year.  Just how many is not known.  The Statue's height and the conductive material she's made of, copper, makes it a structure of choice for lightning strikes.

Answer 2

The outside of the Statue Of Liberty is made of formed sheets of copper. A copper skin covers the outside of the statue. There is now a new insulator, several layers thick of a teflon material that  insulates the copper coating or skin from the metal supports. Originally the insulation between the iron supports and the copper skin was asbestos and pitch. Over years this was worn away. This was removed in the refurbishing  in the early 80's and replaced with a polymer of teflon. Open to public in 1986. Working as an insulation and to prevent galvanic action between the copper and the supporting framework.This Polytetrafluoroethylene insulation is  between copper outside and supports that were recently replaced with stainless steel. The highest points on the crown and the torch have independent ground cables that act as designated ground points, working together with the copper skin to ground the Statue of Liberty. The inside metal stairs and stainless supports all recently replaced have an independent grounding system.

Answer 3

true that ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Answer 4

The statue is made of steel and copper, so it is one big lightning rod! It forms such a good path for electricity that being struck by lightning would be no problem at all.

Answer 5

I think the Statute of Liberty has lightning rods (not really sure . . .).

But it shoudl be already grounded through its base and the island.  That island doesn't "float" on water, you know . . . . .