Lightning injures 8 in Florida, kills one in different events as summer storms roil the state
A warning siren wailed and some beachgoers sought cover under the thatch of a tiki hut — one of several at the JW Marriott Beach Resort — and, ultimately, the one where a bolt of electricity hotter than the surface of the sun would strike.
Four women were knocked unconscious by the random punch from Mother Nature at about 3:45 p.m. on June 21. They were among 8 people injured and one killed by lightning strikes in Florida during the waning days of June, according to police reports and the National Weather Service.
'It wasn't necessarily severe that day but that goes to show you that any thunderstorm can put out lightning strikes that can hurt someone,' said Miami-based National Weather Service meteorologist Sammy Hadi. 'You may think a tiki hut is a safe location, however, if the lighting hit the tiki hut and the current went into the ground, you can get shocked.'
Florida ranks consistently in first or second place as the state with the most lightning deaths per year. Between 2015 and 2024, 50 people were killed in Florida by lightning, compared to second place Texas, where 20 people were killed.
This year, Florida has so far had just one death, a 29-year-old Colorado man who was struck June 20 while standing in shallow water at New Smyrna Beach. The man, Jake Rosencranz, was on a delayed honeymoon after getting married in 2023.
'They were visiting our beaches to celebrate their marriage,' Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood posted on social media. 'In one terrifying second everything changed.'
Two people were injured on the Venetian Bay golf course the same day Rosencranz was killed. On June 23, there was a lightning injury in Navarre Beach when a man was struck at a restaurant. A person was also taken to the hospital on June 23 after lightning struck a cabana in Holmes Beach where several people were waiting out a storm.
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'The challenge with lightning is it can come from miles away without anyone knowing it,' said Marco Island Police Captain David Ennis, who was about a mile from the beach when the lightning struck June 21. 'I saw the storm coming and when I went inside, it was overcast, it was a dark sky.'
Florida's geography makes summer one of the more dangerous seasons meteorologically, with spiking daytime temperatures that trigger invading sea breezes from both coasts of the peninsula.
Those breezes force hot air over land to rise. Depending on the conditions higher in the atmosphere, especially if it's particularly cold, ice particles form. Colliding ice transfers electrons and separates electrical charges with negatively charged ice falling toward the bottom of the cloud where it can discharge lightning to Earth.
A lightning strike sends an electric pulse searing through the nervous system causing concussion, temporary loss of hearing or eyesight and, sometimes, brain injury. The heart may stop beating entirely or pump erratically. Electricity also travels on top of the skin, causing burns by turning sweat or rain to steam or heating up a belt buckle, for example, to singe exposed skin.
'Florida is certainly the lightning death capital of the country,' said John Jensenius, lightning safety specialist for the National Lightning Safety Council. 'Our recommendation is that you get inside a substantial building that has wiring and plumbing. There is no safe place outside.'
Lightning can strike from 10 miles away with a blue sky overhead and tends to hit the highest object in an area. It is not attracted to metal — an enduring myth — although metal is a good conductor of electrical current, which is why lightning rods are used on tall buildings to direct the current into the ground.
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People can also seek safety in a closed car with a metal roof where if lighting strikes the charge will travel around the outside car and into the tires or ground.
Hadi, the meteorologist, was working the afternoon of June 21. The NWS Miami office forecasts for Collier County and he began noticing signs of potential trouble three hours before the lightning strike that injured the four women.
The air aloft was cooler that day, meaning more energy could be produced by rising warm air from the surface. The office issued a special weather statement at about 3:30 p.m. as a strong thunderstorm approached Marco Island. A radar loop speckled white with lighting bolts was posted to social media at 3:31 pm, about 14 minutes before the strike.
Danielle Sturgill, who was one of the women injured on Marco Island June 21, told CBS affiliate WINK News in Fort Myers that she and her friends went under the tiki hut to get out of the rain.
'The next thing I know, we were all four knocked unconscious. We didn't even know what happened. We didn't hear the boom,' Sturgill said.
Three of the women were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The group, who were visiting from Kentucky, later got tattoos of small lightning bolts on their ankles to commemorate the event.
'They were lucky,' Jensenius said.
"Everyone constantly reminds us of how blessed we are, and it's not luck," Sturgill told WINK News. "We're just thankful to God."
No place outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area.
Schedule outdoor activities when there are no thunderstorms in the forecast.
Check the latest forecast and cancel or postpone activities if thunderstorms are predicted.
Monitor weather conditions via radar or lightning app.
Keep a watchful eye on the sky. Listen for thunder.
Lightning can strike outward 10 miles from a storm. If you hear any thunder, even a distant rumble, you are likely within striking distance of the storm.
Head quickly to a safe place at the first signs of a developing or approaching thunderstorm. (A safe place is a fully enclosed substantial building with wiring and plumbing or fully inside a hardtop metal vehicle.)
Remain inside the safe place for at least 30 minutes after the last thunder before returning outside. Source: The National Lightning Safety Council
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism, subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Lightning injures four on Marco Island kills man in New Smyrna Beach
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