1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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.
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 23 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:43 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck a video camera atop the 200 foot concrete radar tower of WTVT-FOX television affiliate on Kennedy Boulevard and caused extensive damage to the radar circuitry, television equipment and satellite receiver dishes.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, August 1997
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: 5613995.