Meteorologist Steve MacLaughlin explains why lightning is so intense in Florida.
Florida has long been considered the lightning capital of the United States.
Surprisingly, though, Florida actually ranks fourth in lightning strikes behind Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
But due to a much more densely-packed population, the ability to enjoy the outdoors year-round, and the fact that we are surrounded by water, more people are killed by lightning in Florida than in any other state.
How does lightning form?
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Florida is the perfect breeding ground for lightning because of three key ingredients: heat, humidity and two sea breezes, one on each coast.
Storms that generate lightning begin with “lift.” Lift means taking air down on the ground where we live and lifting it so it cools and condenses into clouds and then rain. Lift can happen because the sun heats the ground and the air starts rising, or because of a cold front that forces the air up. But the interaction of the sea breezes on the east and west coasts might be the most important reason for so much lightning.
Lift creates ice because as the water lifts into the colder air up high in the sky, it freezes. This can lead to hail if the ice balls get big enough to fall to the ground. But as the ice is forming and moving around in the clouds, the separation of positive and negative charges creates the environment for lightning.
Lightning can be up to 50,000°F. It can be cloud-to-cloud or cloud-to-air. But it is “cloud-to-ground” lightning that is the deadliest for obvious reasons. Florida averages more than 3,000 cloud-to-ground strikes per day and over a million flashes per year.
Lightning deaths in Florida
Florida averages seven lightning deaths each year. In 2024, the United States has seen 10 lightning deaths through the summer, one in Tallahassee, one in Davie, and one in St. Petersburg.
We are waiting to hear if the Pembroke Pines death of a 16-year-old on Wednesday will officially be blamed on lightning, but witness reports suggest that might be the case. That would be the eleventh of 2024 and Florida’s fourth.
