Florida, 1997

Lightning Strike in Florida, September 2, 1997

September 2, 1997 · NWS TBW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
2
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.

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 116 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:09 UTC.

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Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Sumter

When
September 2, 4:07 PM EST
Where
Sumter County, Wildwood
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
2 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
28.705, -82.081 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning from the cirrus anvil of a distant thunderstorm struck and killed a nine year old child and injured two other children ages eleven and fifteen. The children were standing along the sidelines of the Wildwood High School football practice field. The nine year old male child died ten days after the strike.The nine year old child took the direct lightning hit and sustained major burn injuries to his forehead, chest, back and down the left side of his body to the soles of his feet. The two older children's injuries from the lighting were minor. The lightning struck nearly 35 minutes after a thunderstorm had passed over the field.

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.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Lightning, Sumter1997-09-029MaleBall FieldDirect

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

More

Every storm in Florida in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, September 1997

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: 5622410.