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 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 Tampa Bay, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 7, 9:42 AM EST, 1 hour 18 minutes earlier.
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 1042 AM EDT WED JUL 7 2004 SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO DEVELOP OVER THE PAST HALF HOUR ALONG THE SEABREEZE BOUNDARY AND WILL THEREFORE UPDATE THE ZONES TO REMOVE THE AFTERNOON WORDING ON THE POPS. .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FOLLOWS... .CURRENTLY...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL COASTAL WATERS WITH MOSTLY CLEAR TO PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES OVER LAND. THESE STORMS SHOULD BE DISSIPATING/MOVING ASHORE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. LIGHT FLOW ALOFT CONTINUES...CAUSING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WITH THE STORMS THAT DEVELOP LONG SEABREEZE AND OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES. CURRENT ZONES ON TRACK SO NO UPDATE PLANNED. && .MARINE...LITTLE CHANGES PLANNED FOR UPDATE AS BUOYS SHOW LIGHT WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS AND SEAS LESS THAN 2 FEET. WINDS AND SEAS HIGHER NEAR ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. && .TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && JLC
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 521 AM EDT WED JUL 7 2004 FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-071400- CHARLOTTE-CITRUS-DE SOTO-HARDEE-HERNANDO-HIGHLANDS-HILLSBOROUGH-LEE- LEVY-MANATEE-PASCO-PINELLAS-POLK-SARASOTA-SUMTER- 521 AM EDT WED JUL 7 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY: SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE AGAIN EXPECTED TO DEVELOP WITH DAYTIME HEATING ALONG THE WEST COAST SEA BREEZE OVER COASTAL AREAS LATER THIS MORNING INTO EARLY AFTERNOON THEN MOVE INLAND LATER COLLIDING WITH OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES AND THE EAST COAST SEA BREEZE LATE THIS AFTERNOON OVER INTERIOR AND SOUTHERN AREAS...THEN TAPER OFF INTO THE EVENING. WEAK STEERING FLOW ALOFT WILL ALLOW FOR SLOW MOVING STORMS WHICH COULD PRODUCE RAINFALL RATES OF 2 TO 3 INCHES AN HOUR...CAUSING MINOR FLOODING OF POOR DRAINAGE AREAS. FREQUENT TO EXCESSIVE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH ARE ALSO POSSIBLE WITH TODAYS STORMS. WHEN SKIES DARKEN...MOVE INDOORS. IF THERE IS TIME...UNPLUG APPLIANCES AND ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. WAIT UNTIL THE STORM ENDS BEFORE USING THE TELEPHONE OR RUNNING WATER. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS FOR UPDATES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY: SCATTERED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED EACH DAY. THERE WILL BE A POSSIBILITY OF STRONG STORMS EACH AFTERNOON. STAY TUNED TO THE LATEST FORECASTS FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS. .SPOTTER CALL TO ACTION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. && FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION...CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/TBW (LOWER CASE)
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 1124 AM EDT WED JUL 7 2004 FLZ050-071600- PINELLAS- 1124 AM EDT WED JUL 7 2004 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT AREAS NEAR SAINT PETERSBURG... A THUNDERSTORM...MOVING EAST AT 5 TO 10 MPH...WILL AFFECT SAINT PETERSBURG AND LEALMAN...UNTIL 1200 PM EDT. GUSTY WINDS UP TO 40 MPH AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS EXPECTED. TORRENTIAL RAINS WILL CAUSE PONDING OF WATER ON ROADS...AND MINOR FLOODING OF POOR DRAINAGE AREAS.
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 26 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:01 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A 42 year old male was struck and killed by lightning in the 6000 block of 13th Avenue East in Ellenton.
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, Manatee | 2004-07-07 | 42 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, July 2004
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: 5412750.