Lightning Strike in Florida, August 1, 1999

Name: Lightning Strike in Florida, August 1, 1999
Start: 1999-08-01T13:45
End: 1999-08-01T13:45
Location: Florida

August 1, 1999 · 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.

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Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
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Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
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The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 0
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 national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Hillsborough

When: August 1, 1:45 PM EST
Where: Hillsborough County, 5 mi NE of Tampa
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 27.906, -82.347 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A 38 year old male was attempting to close the roof vent of a metal camper when lightning struck a nearby tree, approximately ten to fifteen feet from his location. The individual was struck by a sideflash of the lightning bolt at the onset of a thunderstorm (light rain just began) on Carroway Street, south of State Road 574 (MLK Blvd) in Tampa.

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.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Lightning, Hillsborough	1999-08-01	38	Male	Heavy Equipment/Construction	Direct

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

Every storm in Florida in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, August 1999

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: 5719487.