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 Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 65 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:16 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck near a garden center, injuring a customer at a department store in Mary Esther. The male was taken to a local hospital and kept overnight for observation. He was released the next day.
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, May 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: 5600519.