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), 132 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:00 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning ignited a brush fire along Interstate 75 and Alico Road. The combination of fog and dense smoke from the fire reduced visibility to near zero which caused officials to close the interstate for a few minutes.
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: 5610644.