Lightning, Miami-Dade
- When
- May 19, 1:15 PM EST
- Where
- Miami-Dade County, Miami Intl
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 25.609, -80.499 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Florida, May 19, 1999
Lightning strikes punctured holes in the runway at Miami International Airport and knocked out Airport Surveillance Radar, closing the airport for three hours and delaying 50 flights. Three commercial aircraft suffered minor damage from the strikes.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $50,000
- 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.
What happened
The episode as NWS MFL wrote it up.
Lightning strikes punctured holes in the runway at Miami International Airport and knocked out Airport Surveillance Radar, closing the airport for three hours and delaying 50 flights. Three commercial aircraft suffered minor damage from the strikes. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was also affected.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, May 19, 1999
- Lightning Strike in Florida, May 19, 1999
- Tornado in Florida, May 19, 1999
- Wildfire in Alaska, May 19, 1999
- Damaging Winds in Florida, May 19, 1999
- Heavy Rain in New Jersey, May 19, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wyoming, May 19, 1999
- Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, May 19, 1999
- Hail in Colorado, May 19, 1999
- Hail in Nebraska, May 19, 1999
- Heavy Rain in New York, May 19, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, May 19, 1999
More
Every storm in Florida in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, May 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: 5690327.