Lightning, Escambia
- When
- August 6, 8:26 AM CST
- Where
- Escambia County, Perdido Key
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 30.614, -87.341 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Florida, August 6, 1996
Three people working at a construction site at Perdido Key were struck by lightning. One of the persons died.
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
- 2
- 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.
Three people working at a construction site at Perdido Key were struck by lightning. One of the persons died. The three were huddled underneath a makeshift lean-to. One of the men had a rake in his hand when the bolt hit. Lightning either struck their shelter, the deceased or the rake he was holding. The storms that caused the lightning were moving in from the Gulf of Mexico. It is unlikely the victim was struck by the first lightning bolt.
The radar
The Mobile radar (KMOB), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:25 UTC.
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, Escambia | 1996-08-06 | 30 | 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
- Lightning Strike in Minnesota, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, August 6, 1996
- Tornado in South Dakota, August 6, 1996
- Hail in South Dakota, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, August 6, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Minnesota, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, August 6, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, August 6, 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: 5566248.