Florida, 1996

Lightning Strike in Florida, June 17, 1996

June 17, 1996 · NWS TBW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lightning struck and slightly injured a male employee at Busch Gardens Amusement Park while talking on a PA system.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
1
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 TBW wrote it up.

Lightning struck and slightly injured a male employee at Busch Gardens Amusement Park while talking on a PA system.

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 23 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:43 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Hillsborough

When
June 17, 3:45 PM EST
Where
Hillsborough County, 5 mi NNE of Tampa
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
27.906, -82.347 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Florida in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, June 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: 5574229.