Lightning, Bay
- When
- September 10, 11:15 AM CST
- Where
- Bay County, Panama City
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 30.238, -85.633 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Florida, September 10, 1996
Lightning struck into a grassy courtyard area on the campus of Bay High School in Panama City. A 16 year old female student was walking through the courtyard near one of two tall pine trees and was killed by the lightning strike.
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
- 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 TAE wrote it up.
Lightning struck into a grassy courtyard area on the campus of Bay High School in Panama City. A 16 year old female student was walking through the courtyard near one of two tall pine trees and was killed by the lightning strike. Light rain was falling and the only prevous strike had been moments earlier in the distance.
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, Bay | 1996-09-10 | 16 | Female | Under Tree | 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 South Carolina, September 10, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, September 10, 1996
- High Wind in Alaska, September 10 to 11, 1996
- Hail in South Dakota, September 10, 1996
- Hail in South Dakota, September 10, 1996
- Hail in South Dakota, September 10, 1996
- Hail in Minnesota, September 10, 1996
- Hail in Minnesota, September 10, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, September 10, 1996
- Hail in South Dakota, September 10, 1996
- Hail in Minnesota, September 10, 1996
- Hail in Minnesota, September 10, 1996
More
Every storm in Florida in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, September 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: 5564444.