By Levi J. Long
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

While visiting the grave site of his son, a 70-year-old Tucson man was struck by lightning Saturday night. His body was found early Sunday at East Lawn Palms Cemetery.

Joseph Cooper's body was found under a tree at the cemetery, 5801 E. Grant Road. His son, Oscar, died on Sept. 15, 1996, at the age of 30.

A family representative said relatives were in shock Sunday and declined comment until later.

Maintenance employees at East Lawn found Cooper's body and called Tucson police at 6:28 a.m., said Sgt. Kerry Fuller, a police spokeswoman.

Homicide detectives and a doctor from the Medical Examiner's Office confirmed significant evidence that lightning was the cause of death, Fuller said.

Entry and exit wounds, bruises and other injuries were found on the body, Fuller said, but an autopsy will be performed to confirm the cause.

Fuller said deaths caused by lightning strikes are unusual in Tucson, even during severe storms.

Local statistics weren't available Sunday, but the National Lightning Safety Institute reported 17 deaths in Arizona from 1990 to 2003, according to its Web site.

The National Weather Service reports an average of 67 deaths and 300 lightning injuries in the United States each year.

Deputy Tucson Fire Chief Patrick Quinn said about one of every 10 people struck by lightning dies.

"People forget how common and powerful lightning is," Quinn said.

"There are so many strikes across the desert," he said. "When you look across the desert, you see lightning like crazy."

Jeff Davis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the weekend's storms were not typical of May weather.

"We had an unusual pattern that developed in the past few days with record heat and moisture and drier air coming in after that," Davis said Sunday.

Typically, severe lightning occurs during the monsoon period from late June to mid-September, Davis said.

More storms aren't expected anytime soon for Southern Arizona, Davis said.

Fuller said Cooper's death is a reminder to follow safety guidelines during electrical storms.

"Even though it was highly unusual, it shows that this can happen to anybody," Fuller said.

Quinn recommends the 30/30 rule from the National Lightning Safety Institute, which advises that if the seconds between "flash and bang" are less than 30, people should immediately seek shelter, and should wait 30 minutes after the last lightning flash before leaving covered shelter.