Lightning strikes a home in Southwest Ranches but causes no significant damage.
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 MFL wrote it up.
Lightning strikes a home in Southwest Ranches but causes no significant damage.
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 23, 12:39 PM EST, 22 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 139 PM EDT SAT AUG 23 2008 .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL. SCT THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT PRIMARILY KAPF THIS AFTERNOON AS SEVERAL BANDS POISED TO MOVE IN FROM THE GULF. GUSTY SW WINDS TO 35 KTS ALONG WITH TORRENTIAL RAINFALL WILL BE THE BIGGEST THREATS. AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF REDUCED VSBY/CIGS PSBL HERE MID AFTERNOON. OTHERWISE...SHRA AND ISOLA TSRA WILL REMAIN MOSTLY INLAND FROM EAST COAST TERMINALS SO DECIDED TO CARRY VCSH ONLY BUT CB CLOUD GROUP. ACTIVITY SHOULD WIND DOWN WITH LIGHT WINDS ALL TERMINALS BY SUNSET. /STRASSBERG && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... WEST PALM BEACH 77 90 77 89 / 30 50 30 50 FORT LAUDERDALE 78 89 77 88 / 30 40 30 40 MIAMI 78 90 78 89 / 30 40 30 40 NAPLES 77 90 76 90 / 40 50 30 40 && .MFL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FL...NONE. AM...NONE. GM...NONE. && LONG TERM...04/AT SHORT TERM/AVIATION...04/AT
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTH FLORIDA...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL 1006 AM EDT SAT AUG 23 2008 FLZ063-066>075-168-172>174-241000- GLADES-HENDRY-INLAND PALM BEACH-METRO PALM BEACH-COASTAL COLLIER- INLAND COLLIER-INLAND BROWARD-METRO BROWARD-INLAND MIAMI DADE- METRO MIAMI DADE-MAINLAND MONROE-COASTAL PALM BEACH- COASTAL BROWARD-COASTAL MIAMI DADE-FAR SOUTH MIAMI DADE- 1006 AM EDT SAT AUG 23 2008 ...FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR GLADES AND HENDRY COUNTIES... ...SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TODAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTH FLORIDA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS: SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA AND THE ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS TODAY, WITH THE GREATEST COVERAGE ANTICIPATED ACROSS THE INTERIOR AND WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE MAINLAND. LIGHTNING STRIKES, GUSTY WINDS, AND HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE THE PRIMARY HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ACTIVITY. WIND: THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND GUSTS UP TO 55 MPH. FLOODING: INLAND FLOODING CONTINUES ACROSS PORTIONS OF GLADES AND HENDRY COUNTIES, IN THE WAKE OF TROPICAL STORM FAY, AND SOME ROADS REMAIN CLOSED ACROSS THE AREA. ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THUNDERSTORMS IN THIS ARE TODAY, WHICH COULD LEAD TO SOME AGGRAVATION OF ANY FLOODING CONDITIONS OR SLOW THE ABILITY OF ANY WATER TO RECEDE. WATERSPOUTS: A LIGHT WIND PATTERN IN THE LOW LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE WILL CREATE FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR WATERSPOUT FORMATION ACROSS THE ATLANTIC WATERS AND BISCAYNE BAY TODAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED EACH AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY, WITH LIGHTNING STRIKES AND GUSTY WINDS BEING THE PRIMARY THREATS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO LIKELY IN SOME AREAS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY FLOODING IN GLADES AND HENDRY COUNTIES, AS WELL WIND GUSTS OVER 50 MPH. FOR MORE INFORMATION...VISIT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MIAMI WEBSITE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/MIAMI. STRASSBERG
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
956 AM EDT SAT AUG 23 2008
FLZ068-072-168-172-231430-
METRO PALM BEACH COUNTY FL-COASTAL PALM BEACH COUNTY FL-
METRO BROWARD COUNTY FL-COASTAL BROWARD COUNTY FL-
956 AM EDT SAT AUG 23 2008
...WATERSPOUT DUE EAST OF POMPANO AIRPORT...
AT 956 AM EDT...TRAINED WEATHER SPOTTERS REPORTED A WATERSPOUT DUE
EAST OF THE POMPANO BEACH AIRPORT. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER
RADAR INDICATED THIS SHOWER WAS MOVING NORTHWEST TOWARDS THE COAST
IN BETWEEN POMPANO BEACH AND DEERFIELD BEACH.
THIS STORM WILL AFFECT...
LIGHTHOUSE POINT...
DEERFIELD BEACH...
AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES.
RESIDENTS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT IN CASE THE WATERSPOUT MOVES ONSHORE
IN WHICH CASE A TORNADO WARNING MAY NEED TO BE ISSUED.
LAT...LON 2627 8008 2625 8008 2625 8011 2627 8014
2635 8013 2633 8007 2629 8007
TIME...MOT...LOC 1356Z 134DEG 10KT 2628 8009
STRASSBERGSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIAMI FL
133 PM EDT SAT AUG 23 2008
FLZ069-070-231830-
COASTAL COLLIER COUNTY FL-INLAND COLLIER COUNTY FL-
133 PM EDT SAT AUG 23 2008
...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING ONSHORE COLLIER COUNTY...
AT 131 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM NAPLES TO MARCO
ISLAND...MOVING NORTH AT 13 MPH.
THESE STORMS WILL AFFECT...
NAPLES...
PELICAN BAY...
ROOKERY BAY AQUATIC PRESERVE...
NORTH NAPLES...
BELLE MEADE...
EAST NAPLES...
AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES.
THE PRIMARY IMPACTS WILL BE FREQUENT TO EXCESSIVE LIGHTNING AND GUSTY
WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH...WHICH CAN DOWN SMALL TREE LIMBS AND
BRANCHES...AND BLOW AROUND UNSECURED SMALL OBJECTS. LIGHTNING IS THE
NUMBER ONE WEATHER RELATED KILLER IN FLORIDA. TREES AND OPEN SHELTERS
OFFER NO PROTECTION. SEEK SHELTER IN A SAFE BUILDING UNTIL THE STORM
PASSES.
LAT...LON 2626 8182 2632 8179 2632 8170 2615 8167
2598 8170 2594 8174 2595 8175 2597 8175
2598 8174 2600 8177 2608 8180 2609 8182
TIME...MOT...LOC 1733Z 195DEG 11KT 2616 8180 2593 8178
STRASSBERGThe Miami radar (KAMX), 49 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:00 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck a home just after 2 PM in Southwest Ranches. The strike ignited an air conditioning duct, but when the fire department arrived all they saw was smoke. The house was vented and no significant damage was reported.
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: 131406.