Lightning Strikes in Florida, August 25, 2004

Name: Lightning Strikes in Florida, August 25, 2004
Start: 2004-08-25T12:50
End: 2004-08-25T12:50
Location: Florida

August 25, 2004 · NWS MFL · 3 events in 1 county or zone

In three separate incidents lightning strikes damaged the roofs of two houses and one office building. A man working on the roof of the office building was injured and hospitalized.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

In three separate incidents lightning strikes damaged the roofs of two houses and one office building. A man working on the roof of the office building was injured and hospitalized.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Miami, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 25, 9:20 AM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 25, 9:20 AM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

SOUTH FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
1020 AM EDT WED AUG 25 2004

UPDATED...THE MIA SOUNDING THIS MORNING CAME IN WITH PWAT AT 2.11
INCHES WHICH IS HIGHER THAN YESTERDAY MORNING ALONG WITH THE LIGHT
WINDS UP TO 700 MBS. A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WAS ALSO LOCATED OVER
SOUTH CENTRAL FLORIDA THIS MORNING.

THE COMBINATION OF THE HIGH PWAT AND THE TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WAS
HELPING TO GENERATE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE GULF AND
ATLANTIC WATERS THIS MORNING. THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD
CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTH FLORIDA WATERS AND MOVE VERY
SLOWLY...AS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP OVER THE CWA THIS
AFTERNOON ALONG THE SEA BREEZES AND OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES.

SO THE ONLY CHANGES TO THE ZONES PACKAGE IS TO MENTION POSSIBLE
HEAVY RAINFALL...DUE TO THE SLOW MOVEMENT OF THE STORMS AND THE HIGH
PWAT.

THE WINDS THIS MORNING OVER THE ATLANTIC AND GULF WATERS WERE FROM
THE SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST AROUND 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SO THE ONLY CHANGE IS
TO OPEN UP THE WIND DIRECTION A LITTLE...AND TO CHANCE WORDING THE
CHANCE TO SCATTERED WORDING.

&&

.MFL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...NONE.
AM...NONE.
GM...NONE.

&&

BAXTER

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 25, 9:53 AM EST, 2 hours 57 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
1053 AM EDT WED AUG 25 2004

FLZ063-066>075-252200-
BROWARD METROPOLITAN-DADE METROPOLITAN-EASTERN COLLIER-GLADES-HENDRY-
MAINLAND MONROE-PALM BEACH EASTERN-PALM BEACH WESTERN-
WESTERN BROWARD-WESTERN COLLIER-WESTERN DADE-
1053 AM EDT WED AUG 25 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH FLORIDA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON.

...NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON...
...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WITH THE STRONG THUNDERSTORMS...

NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER SOUTH
FLORIDA THIS AFTERNOON ALONG THE SEA BREEZES, LAKE BREEZES, AND
OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL THEN MOVE VERY
LITTLE OR SLOWLY TO THE NORTH, WHICH IN TURN WILL RESULT IN LOCALLY
HEAVY RAINFALL AND MINOR FLOODING OF LOW LYING AREAS. WIND GUSTS UP
TO 30 MPH, AND CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING STRIKES CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED
WITH THESE STORMS.

IF YOU SEE LIGHTNING OR HEAR THUNDER MOVE INSIDE UNTIL THE STORMS
HAVE PASSED. IF YOU SEE WATER COVERING THE ROADWAYS TURN AROUND AND
FIND ANOTHER WAY TO YOUR DESTINATION.

NO OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND DETAILED GRAPHICS CAN BE FOUND ON THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEB SITE AT MIAMIWEATHER.INFO. FOR
INFORMATION IN SPANISH, VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT ELTIEMPOENMIAMI.INFO.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

BAXTER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 25, 11:55 AM EST, 55 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
1255 PM EDT WED AUG 25 2004

FLZ073-074-251800-
DADE METROPOLITAN-WESTERN DADE-
1255 PM EDT WED AUG 25 2004

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL MIAMI-DADE COUNTY...

A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS FROM ABOUT KENDALL LAKES...COUNTRY
WALKS...AND PERRINE WESTWARD WILL MOVE VERY LITTLE OR SLOWLY TO THE
NORTH THROUGH THE NEXT HOUR OR SO. THE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF
PRODUCING FREQUENT LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS TO 40 MPH...PEA-SIZE
HAIL...AND TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS. A WARNING COULD BE ISSUED IF THESE
THUNDERSTORMS STRENGTHEN. SEEK SHELTER IN A SAFE BUILDING UNTIL THE
STORM PASSES.

RESIDENTS NEAR THE PATH OF THIS STORM SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
DETAILS OR UPDATES.

REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER OR DAMAGE TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY OR YOUR COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. THEY WILL RELAY YOUR
REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE IN MIAMI. OR
YOU CAN ALSO CALL THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI DIRECTLY AT
305.229.4522 TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER.

BAXTER

Special weather statement, Aug 25, 12:12 PM EST, 38 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
112 PM EDT WED AUG 25 2004

FLZ068-072-251815-
BROWARD METROPOLITAN-PALM BEACH EASTERN-
112 PM EDT WED AUG 25 2004

AT 110 PM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED STRONG
THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG THE SEA BREEZE ACROSS BROWARD AND
PALM BEACH COUNTIES METRO AREAS. THROUGH THE NEXT HOUR OR SO...THESE
STORMS WILL EITHER REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY OR DRIFT NORTH. THIS
WILL RESULT IN LOCALLY VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WHICH COULD RESULT IN
STREET FLOODING.

FREQUENT LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS TO 30 MPH OR HIGHER...AND PEA-SIZE
HAIL...ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. RESIDENTS ARE ADVISED TO REMAIN ON THE
ALERT IN CASE WARNINGS BECOME NECESSARY.

PS

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Broward

When: August 25, 12:50 PM EST
Where: Broward County, Plantation
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 26.152, -80.456 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning, Broward

When: August 25, 12:50 PM EST
Where: Broward County, 5 mi N of Pembroke Pines
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 26.152, -80.456 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning, Broward

When: August 25, 12:50 PM EST
Where: Broward County, Sunrise Golf Vlg
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 26.152, -80.456 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Florida, August 2004

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: 5412025, 5412026, 5412027.