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In Nation's Lightning Capital, July Brings The Most Strikes
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Published: July 7, 2008
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.
And 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 Dennis 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.
•The world leader in lightning strikes is equatorial Africa, including an area within the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Danger
•Florida leads the nation in lightning deaths with 74 between 1998 and 2007. Colorado had the next highest number with 27.
•In 2008, lightning has killed 11 people across the country, including a 6-year-old girl struck when 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.
•A quarter of all victims 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 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; this 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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