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 Sep 4, 12:27 PM EST, 2 hours 18 minutes earlier.
WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL 127 PM EDT MON SEP 4 2006 .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT - WEDNESDAY)...EARLIER LOW AND MID-LEVEL CLOUDS ARE ALL BUT GONE AND PARTLY TO MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES ARE NOW THE RULE. CUMULUS DEVELOPMENT IS OCCURRING OVER LEVY AND CITRUS COUNTY WHERE THE LACK OF EARLIER CLOUD COVER HAS ALLOWED TEMPERATURES TO CLIMB INTO THE UPPER 80S TO NEAR 90 AND THE SEA BREEZE IS BEGINNING ITS PUSH INLAND. CLOUDS WILL FILL IN ELSEWHERE BY MID-AFTERNOON AS HEATING CONTINUES AND SEA BREEZES STRENGTHEN. LIGHT WINDS THIS AFTERNOON ALONG WITH CONVERGING BOUNDARIES WILL RESULT IN LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AMOUNTS IN PLACES. EXPECT HEAVIER STORMS TO DUMP 2 INCHES AN HOUR LATER TODAY...AND THE STORM MOTION WILL BE VERY SLOW. AFTER TODAY...LINGERING MID-LEVEL DEBRIS CLOUDINESS AND LIGHT RAIN IS POSSIBLE AGAIN AS UPPER-LEVELS ARE MOIST AND WINDS ARE LIGHT. MEASURABLE RAINS SHOULD END BEFORE MIDNIGHT THOUGH WITH SLOWLY CLEARING SKIES. ON TUESDAY...AN UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH SWINGS INTO THE EASTERN U.S. SUPPORTING A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY THAT WILL APPROACH THE PANHANDLE. MEANWHILE...ATLANTIC HIGH PRESSURE TRIES TO RIDGE WESTWARD TO THE FLORIDA PENINSULA WHILE THE REMNANTS OF A WEAK SURFACE TROUGH MOVE INTO THE WESTERN GULF. THESE FEATURES COMBINED WITH AMPLE MOISTURE IN PLACE SHOULD LEAD TO ANOTHER AFTERNOON OF ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL. PLAN ON BUMPING POPS UP ABOUT 10 PERCENT FROM CURRENT FORECAST... WHICH WILL STILL BE A BIT BELOW GUIDANCE NUMBERS. THE WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY PUSHES INTO NORTH FLORIDA TUESDAY NIGHT THEN LOSES IDENTITY SOMEWHERE OVER THE FLORIDA PENINSULA ON WEDNESDAY. WEDNESDAY LOOKS LIKE A TRANSITION DAY WHERE WE BEGIN TO TREND CLOSER TO CLIMATOLOGICAL RAIN CHANCES...ALTHOUGH WITH LIGHT WINDS AND A DECAYING BOUNDARY NEARBY...I WOULDNT BE SURPRISED TO SEE HIGHER COVERAGE IN THE INTERIOR ONCE AGAIN. WILL NUDGE POPS UPWARD EVERYWHERE FOR WEDNESDAY AND JUMP UP A CATEGORY TO LIKELY FOR THE INTERIOR COUNTIES. .LONG TERM (WEDNESDAY NIGHT-MONDAY)...THE PERIOD WILL START OFF WITH A SHORT WAVE DROPPING INTO THE BASE OF THE LONGWAVE TROF...ITS AXIS BASICALLY ALONG THE MISS RVR VALLEY INTO THE NW GULF. THESE FEATURES WILL PUSH A WEAK SFC FRONT DOWN TOWARD THE CENTRAL FL PENINSULA DURING THE DAY THU. BY FRIDAY...THIS BOUNDARY WILL DISSIPATE OVER THE AREA AS THE AFOREMENTIONED SHORT WAVE MOVES OFF TO THE NE...LEAVING NEARLY ZONAL OR WEAK CYCLONIC FLOW ALOFT IN ITS WAKE. COMBINATION OF THE SHORT WAVE...WEAK BOUNDARY AND SEA BREEZE...AND PWS REMAINING 1.8 TO 2 INCHES...EXPECTING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND TSTMS EACH DAY...WITH TEMPS NEAR NORMAL. LITTLE CHANGE IN THE PATTERN OVER THE WEEKEND WITH REGARD TO FEATURES ALOFT. MODELS HAVE BACKED OFF ON A TROPICAL WAVE PASSING BY TO OUR SOUTH...AND INSTEAD SUGGESTS EASTERLY LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL PERSIST WITH SFC HIGH PRES RIDGE AXIS WELL TO OUR NORTH...AND MID/UPR RIDGE AXIS TO OUR SOUTH. 30-40 POPS SAT THRU MON LOOKS REASONABLE ASSOC MAINLY WITH AFTERNOON/EVENING SEA BREEZE CONVECTION. && .MARINE...WEAK SURFACE TROUGH THAT HAS BEEN LINGERING NEAR THE STATE FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS WILL FINALLY GET PULLED OUT INTO THE ATLANTIC AS THE DECAYING FRONTAL BOUNDARY DROPS INTO NORTH FLORIDA. THIS WILL ALLOW THE SURFACE RIDGE TO FINALLY BUILD BACK OVER THE COASTAL WATERS FOR THE LAST HALF OF THE WEEK. NO SIGNIFICANT WINDS OR SEAS EXPECTED AND JUST ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS. && .AVIATION...EXPECTING AFTERNOON CONVECTION TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP... WITH SCAT TO NMRS SHOWERS AND TSTMS AND ASSOC MVFR AND IFR CONDITIONS LATER THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING HOURS. ACTIVITY SHOULD DIMINISH LATER THIS EVENING INTO OVERNIGHT HOURS WITH VFR CONDITIONS. SCAT TO NMRS SHOWERS AND TSTMS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA AGAIN ON TUE...BUT WITH BEST COVERAGE INLAND AND MORE SCATTERED ALONG THE COAST. && .FIRE WEATHER...NO FIRE WEATHER PROBLEMS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... TPA 74 88 74 90 / 30 50 20 40 FMY 75 88 75 91 / 30 50 20 45 GIF 74 89 74 91 / 30 70 20 50 SRQ 73 87 74 89 / 30 40 20 40 BKV 70 89 70 90 / 30 60 20 40 SPG 79 88 79 90 / 30 40 20 40 && .TBW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. GULF WATERS...NONE. && SHORT TERM/MARINE....JILLSON LONG TERM/AVIATION...PETRO
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY AREA - RUSKIN FL 514 AM EDT MON SEP 4 2006 FLZ039-042-043-048>052-055>057-060>062-065-041515- LEVY-CITRUS-SUMTER-HERNANDO-PASCO-PINELLAS-HILLSBOROUGH-POLK- MANATEE-HARDEE-HIGHLANDS-SARASOTA-DE SOTO-CHARLOTTE-LEE- 514 AM EDT MON SEP 4 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AND WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT THE AREA TODAY MAINLY IN THE AFTERNOON HOURS. SHOWERS WILL BECOME NUMEROUS AND POSSIBLY WIDESPREAD SOUTH OF PASCO COUNTY...INCLUDING THE TAMPA BAY AREA. HEAVY RAIN...DEADLY LIGHTNING AND GUSTY WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT. MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ON THE ALERT AND BE READY TO REDUCE SPEED AND INCREASE DISTANCE BETWEEN VEHICLES WHILE DRIVING UNDER HEAVY DOWNPOURS AS VISIBILITIES MAY BRIEFLY DROP TO NEAR ZERO AT TIMES. MINOR FLOODING OF POOR DRAINAGE AND LOW LYING AREAS IS POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS RETURNING EACH DAY...MAINLY IN THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS. COVERAGE WILL SLOWLY DECREASE AS THE WEEK PROGRESSES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
The Tampa radar (KTBW), 132 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:44 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck a tree and killed a 13-year-old boy who was standing nearby. The boy was among a group of kids playing at a popular swimming hole at Ocean Park Drive. It was not raining at the time of the strike.
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, Lee | 2006-09-04 | 13 | Male | Under Tree | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, September 2006
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: 5531691.