From similarity and differences of morphological, biochemical, cellular characteristics, biologist have constructed 'phylogenetic (evolutionary) trees' (who is most closely related to who, analogous to a family tree)
In the United States, lightning routinely kills more people each year than tornadoes or hurricanes. Tornadoes, hail, and wind gusts get the most attention, but only lightning can strike outside the storm itself. Lightning is the first thunderstorm hazard to arrive and the last to leave.
Every year, lightning kills more people in the US than tornadoes or hurricanes. Only floods are more deadly. During the last three decades, floods killed an average of 139 people a year, lightning 87, tornadoes 82 and hurricanes 27 in the US, according to national Weather Service figures.