Lightning from an afternoon thunderstorm destroyed a Sweetwater home in Liberty County.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 episode as NWS TAE wrote it up.
Lightning from an afternoon thunderstorm destroyed a Sweetwater home in Liberty County.
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 Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 1, 9:30 AM EST, 4 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 1030 AM EDT FRI AUG 1 2008 .DISCUSSION...THE UPPER TROUGH CONTINUES TO DIG DOWN INTO THE REGION. THE SURFACE RIDGE AXIS STRETCHES EAS TO WEST ACROSS THE CENTRAL GULF WITH A WEAK TROUGH THROUGH THE CAROLINAS INTO NORTH GEORGIA. 12Z KTAE SOUNDING IS VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE WITH DEEP WESTERLY FLOW. LOCAL RADARS SHOW MOST CONVECTION AT THIS TIME OVER THE MARINE AREA AND ISOLATED SHOWERS APPROACHING OUR SOUTHEAST GEORGIA ZONES. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES ACROSS THE REGION AND TEMPS ARE GENERALLY IN THE MID 80S WITH DEW POINTS IN THE MID 70S. WE EXPECT AN ACTIVE AFTERNOON AND POPS ARE 70 PERCENT ACROSS THE BOARD. WILL UPDATE ZONES SHORTLY JUST TO CLEAN UP FIRST PERIOD WORDING. && .MARINE...WINDS AT THE APALACHICOLA BUOY HAVE INCREASED TO 19 KNOTS THIS PAST HOUR BUT BELIEVE IT IS DUE TO CONVECTION IN THE AREA. WILL KEEP WINDS IN THE 10 TO 15 KT RANGE ON THE UPDATE BUT WATCH NEXT FEW OBS FOR POSSIBLE SCEC CONDITIONS DEVELOPING. && .AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS PERSIST THIS MORNING OUTSIDE OF ANY SHRA OR TSRA. MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES OVER A LARGE SECTION OF THE REGION THIS MORNING WILL SUPPORT STRONG HEATING AND LIKELY LEAD TO SCT TO NMRS COV OF SHRA/TSRA. GIVEN THIS...WILL CONTINUE TEMPO GROUPS ALL SITES FOR MVFR/IFR TSRA IN THE AFTERNOON. MAY SEE A PERIOD OF MVFR RESTRICTIONS TONIGHT...MAINLY TOWARD DAYBREAK AT THE INTERIOR TERMINALS. && .TAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. GA...NONE. FL...NONE. GM...NONE. && AVIATION...GODSEY REST OF DISCUSSION...BARRY
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 533 AM EDT FRI AUG 1 2008 ALZ065>069-FLZ007>019-026>029-034-GAZ120>131-142>148-155>161- GMZ730-750-755-765-770-775-020945- COFFEE-DALE-HENRY-GENEVA-HOUSTON-INLAND WALTON-COASTAL WALTON- HOLMES-WASHINGTON-JACKSON-BAY-CALHOUN-GULF-FRANKLIN-GADSDEN-LEON- JEFFERSON-MADISON-LIBERTY-WAKULLA-TAYLOR-LAFAYETTE-DIXIE-QUITMAN- CLAY-RANDOLPH-TERRELL-DOUGHERTY-LEE-WORTH-TURNER-TIFT-BEN HILL- IRWIN-EARLY-MILLER-BAKER-MITCHELL-COLQUITT-COOK-BERRIEN-SEMINOLE- DECATUR-GRADY-THOMAS-BROOKS-LOWNDES-LANIER- APALACHEE BAY OR COASTAL WATERS FROM KEATON BEACH TO OCHLOCKONEE RIVER FL OUT TO 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM APALACHICOLA TO DESTIN FL OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM OCHLOCKONEE RIVER TO APALACHICOLA FL OUT TO 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM SUWANNEE RIVER TO KEATON BEACH OUT 20 NM- WATERS FROM APALACHICOLA TO DESTIN FL FROM 20 TO 60 NM- WATERS FROM SUWANNEE RIVER TO APALACHICOLA FL FROM 20 TO 60 NM- 533 AM EDT FRI AUG 1 2008 /433 AM CDT FRI AUG 1 2008/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST ALABAMA... SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL GEORGIA...AND THE FLORIDA BIG BEND AND PANHANDLE...AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... A SURFACE TROUGH NORTH OF THE FORECAST AREA COMBINED WITH A MOIST AND UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE WILL HELP THE SEA BREEZE PRODUCE NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE REGION TODAY. CONDITIONS DO NOT APPEAR FAVORABLE FOR ANY STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP...BUT A FEW OF THE STORMS COULD PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. THE IS A MODERATE RISK FOR RIP CURRENTS THIS AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL CONTINUE ON SATURDAY...AS THE TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE REACHES THE NORTHERN FORECAST AREA AND AN UPPER TROUGH DROPS SOUTH INTO THE NORTHEAST GULF REGION. ON SUNDAY...THE SURFACE TROUGH MOVES SOUTH OF THE LOCAL AREA WHILE THE UPPER TROUGH EXITS NORTHEAST. A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE ACROSS THE CENTRAL U.S. MOVES EASTWARD WITH DRIER AIR FILTERING IN FROM WEST TO EAST. RAIN CHANCES AND TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN NEAR NORMAL LEVELS INTO THE WORKWEEK. THERE IS A MODERATE TO HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS FOR SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED TODAY. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEBSITE ON THE INTERNET AT WEATHER.GOV...THEN CLICK ON YOUR AREA OF INTEREST ON THE NATIONAL MAP. BLOCK
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 217 PM EDT FRI AUG 1 2008 FLZ007>009-011845- COASTAL WALTON-HOLMES-INLAND WALTON- 117 PM CDT FRI AUG 1 2008 ...A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT IS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHWESTERN HOLMES AND WALTON COUNTIES IN THE PANHANDLE OF FLORIDA... * UNTIL 145 PM CDT AT 113 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM ABOUT 2 MILES WEST OF DE FUNIAK SPRINGS...MOVING EAST AT 11 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR... DE FUNIAK SPRINGS BY 125 PM CDT. WINDS OF 40 TO 45 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. THIS STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS WHICH MAY CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING OF STREETS AND LOW LYING AREAS...AND IS ALSO PRODUCING FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. MOVE INDOORS IMMEDIATELY LIGHTNING IS ONE OF NATURES NUMBER ONE KILLERS. REMEMBER...IF YOU CAN HEAR THUNDER...YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. RELAY REPORTS OF SIGNIFICANT WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TALLAHASSEE AT (8 5 0) 9 4 2 8 8 3 3. OR...YOU MAY CONTACT THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR YOUR COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. THEY WILL RELAY YOUR REPORT TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. 38-GODSEY
The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 63 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:58 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck a large oak tree adjacent to a single-story wood frame home. The fire spread from the tree into the home. The home was destroyed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Florida in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, August 2008
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: 127634.