Lightning, Alachua
- When
- August 12, 11:05 AM EST
- Where
- Alachua County, Alachua
- Coordinates
- 29.675, -82.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Florida, August 12, 1996
Lightning proved deadly for a horse at the Retirement Home for Horses in Alachua. The 13-year-old gelding was adopted by tennis star Martina Navratilova.
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
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- 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 JAX wrote it up.
Lightning proved deadly for a horse at the Retirement Home for Horses in Alachua. The 13-year-old gelding was adopted by tennis star Martina Navratilova. It was killed instantly in a field shortly after noon.
The radar
The Jacksonville radar (KJAX), 110 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:07 UTC.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, August 12, 1996
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, August 12, 1996
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, August 12, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, August 12, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, August 12, 1996
- Heavy Rain in New Jersey, August 12 to 13, 1996
- Flood in Florida, August 12, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, August 12, 1996
- Rip Current in Florida, August 12, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Texas, August 12, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Texas, August 12, 1996
- Heavy Rain in Maryland, August 12 to 13, 1996
More
Every storm in Florida in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, August 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: 5557226.