42
Recorded events
7
Direct deaths
49
Direct injuries
$3.1M
Property damage
Lightning in Polk County, Florida: 42 recorded events between 1996 and 2018. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #64 nationally and #11 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Polk County, Florida: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Polk County is the 1990s, when 20 of the county's 42 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Polk County archive, lightning makes up 4.8% of all recorded severe weather across 11 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #64 for this hazard and #11 within Florida, putting it in the 97.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for lightning in Polk County with 16 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 1998 | LAKELAND | 0 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 4, 2009 | WINSTON | 0 | 1 | 26 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 1998 | POLK CITY | 0 | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 2003 | MULBERRY | 0 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 7, 2012 | PROVIDENCE | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 23, 1997 | LAKELAND | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 27, 2011 | CARTERS | 0 | 0 | 9 | $0 |
| Jun 1, 2015 | POLK CITY | 0 | 0 | 1 | $10K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 2018 | FOXTOWN | 0 | $25K |
| Aug 26, 2015 | MULBERRY | 0 | $750K |
| Jun 1, 2015 | POLK CITY | 0 | $10K |
| Sep 7, 2012 | PROVIDENCE | 0 | $0 |
| May 18, 2012 | LAKELAND HIGHLANDS | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 27, 2011 | CARTERS | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 11, 2010 | LAKELAND | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 4, 2009 | WINSTON | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 17, 2009 | DAVENPORT | 0 | $50K |
| May 15, 2009 | BARTOW | 0 | $190K |
Other hazards here
More from Polk County
- Thunderstorm Wind 351
- Hail 256
- Tornado 165
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Two men were killed, aged 43 and 37, while standing under a tree that was struck by lightning at the Huntington Hills Golf Club in North Lakeland. The lightning strike occurred near a grove of eight trees near the 12th hole of the golf course. Light rain had been falling prior to the lightning strike.
A 34 year old female was struck in the head, thrown three feet and killed instantly by lightning while standing outdoors in a field next to a steel fence near the intersection of exit 15 of I-4 and Swindell Street. Very light rain was falling at the time of the lightning strike shortly after a severe thunderstorm had moved through the area.
A 16 year old boy was loading a trailer outside his home when it started to rain on the 7th. The boy went to cover a dirt bike under an oak tree when his mother heard a loud boom and found him unconscious. The boy was taken to a hospital where he died on the 11th.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Polk County, Florida?
42 lightning events are recorded in Polk County between 1996 and 2018, causing 7 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Polk County?
The strongest lightning on record in Polk County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Polk County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Lightning in Polk County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/polk-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.