133
Recorded events
18
Direct deaths
80
Direct injuries
$2.4M
Property damage
Lightning in Broward County, Florida: 133 recorded events between 1996 and 2024. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #2 nationally and #2 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Broward County, Florida: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Broward County is the 2000s, when 66 of the county's 133 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 Broward County archive, lightning makes up 11.3% of all recorded severe weather across 11 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2 for this hazard and #2 within Florida, putting it in the 100.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Aug is the peak month for lightning in Broward County with 36 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 2000 | COCONUT CREEK | 0 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 2, 2001 | FT LAUDERDALE | 0 | 1 | 7 | $0 |
| May 16, 2018 | BOCA RATON | 0 | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Oct 5, 2005 | COCONUT CREEK | 0 | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 27, 2017 | HOLLYWOOD N PERRY AR | 0 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| May 29, 2014 | POMPANO BEACH | 0 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 20, 2006 | CORAL SPGS | 0 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 20, 2002 | TAMARAC | 0 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 18, 2024 | HOLLYWOOD N PERRY AR | 0 | $50K |
| Sep 18, 2024 | HOLLYWOOD N PERRY AR | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 3, 2024 | PEMBROKE | 0 | $10K |
| Jun 30, 2024 | MIRAMAR | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 16, 2023 | DAVIE | 0 | $100K |
| Jul 18, 2023 | HOLLYWOOD N PERRY AR | 0 | $30K |
| Jul 17, 2023 | CORAL SPGS | 0 | $10K |
| Aug 14, 2022 | (FXE)FT LAUDRDL EXEC | 0 | $550K |
| Jun 25, 2022 | LAUDERHILL | 0 | $2K |
| Jun 14, 2021 | MIRAMAR | 0 | $5K |
Other hazards here
More from Broward County
- Thunderstorm Wind 385
- Hail 210
- Tornado 146
- Funnel Cloud 94
- Flood 75
- Waterspout 46
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 24-year-old man was struck and killed by lightning while doing landscape work at a private residence in Parkland. The man was working with three other men when the lightning struck. It was not raining at the time, but there were dark storm clouds in the distance. None of the other men were injured.
Coconut Creek PD reported that 3 teenagers were struck by lightning during a football game just before they could seek shelter off the football field at Monarch High School during a rapidly approaching thunderstorm. One person died, and two were injured. The game had already been stopped and people were being directed to shelter when the lightning struck.
Multiple members of media reported two men were struck by lightning at a construction site at the Pines City Center in Pembroke Pines. A 34-year-old man was struck directly while the other indirectly. Both men were taken to a local area hospital. The man who was struck directly had entry and exit wounds and was given CPR by other construction workers before rescue crews arrived. He was transported to a local hospital where he died. The other man who was struck indirectly complained of numbness and was transported to the hospital where he was later released.||Time of the report is when the call was received by 911, and archived data showed lightning in that area around the time of the call.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Broward County, Florida?
133 lightning events are recorded in Broward County between 1996 and 2024, causing 18 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Broward County?
The strongest lightning on record in Broward County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Broward 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 Broward County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/broward-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.