Lightning, Okaloosa
- When
- April 18, 8:38 AM CST
- Where
- Okaloosa County, (Hrt)mary Esther
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 10 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 30.665, -86.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Florida, April 18, 1996
Eleven military personnel were working on an aircraft on Hurlburt Field when lightning either struck the aircraft or near the aircraft. One of the airmen was killed and ten others were injured.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 10
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS MOB wrote it up.
Eleven military personnel were working on an aircraft on Hurlburt Field when lightning either struck the aircraft or near the aircraft. One of the airmen was killed and ten others were injured. The personnel had been ordered inside due to thunderstorms around the area earlier in the morning. The airmen were allowed back on the field at 829 am and lightning hit at 838 am. It was likely the strike that hit the airmen was the first strike out of a developing thunderstorm.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Okaloosa | 1996-04-18 | 25 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
What these are
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado in Illinois, April 18, 1996
- Hail in Iowa, April 18, 1996
- Hail in Iowa, April 18, 1996
- High Wind in Colorado, April 18, 1996
- Flash Flooding in Wisconsin, April 18 to 19, 1996
- High Wind in Utah, April 18, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, April 18 to 19, 1996
- Hail in Florida, April 18, 1996
- Hail in Iowa, April 18, 1996
- Hail in Iowa, April 18, 1996
- Hail in Iowa, April 18, 1996
- Hail in Iowa, April 18, 1996
More
Every storm in Florida in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, April 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5543619.