Lightning, Charlotte
- When
- September 20, 6:30 PM EST
- Where
- Charlotte County, 4 mi SE of Punta Gorda
- Injuries
- 3 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 26.900, -81.950 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Florida, September 20, 1996
Three people were injured when the truck they were sitting on was struck by lightning at the Charlotte County Speedway. The lightning strike knocked the three people to the ground.
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
- 3
- 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.
Three people were injured when the truck they were sitting on was struck by lightning at the Charlotte County Speedway. The lightning strike knocked the three people to the ground. One of the injured lost consciousness for less than a minute, a second victim lost sensations in his legs briefly, while a female victim complained of headaches.A nearby witness that was touching the metal antenna of his vehicle prior to the lightning strike stated that his hair was standing straight up seconds before the victims were struck.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
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
- Tornadoes in Texas, September 20, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, September 20, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, September 20, 1996
- Hail in Texas, September 20, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, September 20, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, September 20, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, September 20, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, September 20, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, September 20 to 21, 1996
- Tornado in Florida, September 20, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, September 20, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, September 20, 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: 5568805.