'All about the Lightning' podcast hosted by UF/IFAS educators
The Brief
Two educators with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) hosted a podcast episode called "All About Lightning."
Stats show Florida leads the nation in lightning-related fatalities from 2015-2024.
TAMPA, Fla. - Two educators with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) hosted a podcast episode called "All About Lightning."
"We know that a big portion of our audience are people that either frequently vacation here or just are visiting and might not be familiar with our kind of pop-up storms and systems that we have here," UF/IFAS' Lara Milligan told FOX 13.
READ: Lightning likely sparks Clearwater house fire
Local perspective
Over the weekend, Clearwater firefighters responded to a house fire on Murray Ave. According to the preliminary investigation, a lightning strike to the rear deck of the property may have sparked the fire.
"There are some days in the afternoons that, in just one small area, you can have over a thousand lightning strikes," FOX 13 Chief Meteorologist Paul Dellegatto said. "And those lightning strikes are typically hitting something: trees, homes, cars, whatnot."
What to Know
UF/IFAS Extension natural resources agents Shannon Carnevale and Lara Milligan recorded the podcast episode. During the podcast episode, the pair walks listeners through the science behind lightning and shares safety tips for residents and visitors alike.
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"If you're out camping or hiking or if you're out on the water in a boat, you notice that change in wind, that drop in temperature, you look up, you see a big fluffy cloud that's starting to turn dark. It is time to head inside," Carnevale said on "All About Lightning."
To listen to the podcast episode, click here.
By the numbers
Florida leads the nation with 50 lightning-related deaths from 2015-2024, according to the Lightning Safety Council.
"You just can't mess around in a state that almost every single day in the summer has lightning strikes all over the place," Dellegatto said. "So it's, I think, one of my number one concerns as a meteorologist."
According to UF/IFAS, 63% of lightning casualties happen during leisure activities. Additionally, lightning caused about $1.2 billion worth of damage in 2023, according to research done by UF/IFAS.
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