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West Central Florida 'Gets More Lightning Than Anywhere Else'

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By NEIL JOHNSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 3, 2008

Updated: 07/06/2008 08:07 pm

TAMPA - Thunderstorms roll over West Central Florida 90 to 100 days a year. With that many, it's little wonder the region is called the lightning capital of the country.

During July, there are more lightning strikes in Florida than in any other month – each bolt a thumb-thick jolt of electricity traveling up to 90,000 miles a second and reaching a temperature as high as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Last year, five of the 11 people killed by lightning in Florida were struck in July.

Said Denis Decker, National Weather Service meteorologist: "This area definitely gets more lightning than anywhere else."

FREQUENCY

* Florida leads the nation in lightning strikes per square mile with an average of 1.5 million lightning bolts each year. That comes out to 26 every square mile.

* In a band from the Tampa Bay area across the state to near Cape Canaveral lightning can strike every square mile up to 40 times in a year.

* A small area to the east of Tampa Bay averages more than 40 strikes a year.

* Forty strikes a year is about twice the number of lightning strikes that hit the Empire State Building annually.

DANGER

* Florida leads the nation in lightning deaths with 74 from 1998 through 2007. Colorado had the next highest number with 27.

* So far in 2008, lightning has killed 11 people across the country, including a 6-year-old girl struck standing under a tree while camping in Liberty County.

* Here's what others among this year's victims were doing: tending cows, swimming in a lake, staying in a tent and fishing on a jetty. Five were under trees.

* In 2007, lightning killed 45 people in the United States including 11 in Florida.

* Men are killed more often than women, maybe because they work and play outdoors more. A quarter of all victims nationally were near trees.

* About nine in 10 people struck by lightning survive, but a quarter of the survivors endure long-lasting physical and mental problems.

TIPS

* Most fatal lightning strikes – 98 percent – hit people outdoors, so for the best protection is to move inside a building.

* While inside, avoid touching masonry walls, plumbing fixtures, electrical switches and equipment or metal windows.

* Don't take refuge in open structures such as a picnic pavilion, carport or lanai. On June 7, lightning killed a 23-year-old man standing under a pavilion.

* A vehicle can provide protection, but don't touch door handles or radio knobs and keep windows up. It forms a metal cage that carries away the electricity.

* Caught in the open? Stay away from tall objects and crouch in a baseball catcher's position in the lowest spot you can find.

* One shelter of last resort: A highway overpass or bridge, but be sure to stay away from metal and water.

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