42
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
17
Direct injuries
$387K
Property damage
Lightning in Escambia County, Florida: 42 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #64 nationally and #11 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Escambia County, Florida: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Escambia County is the 2000s, when 27 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 Escambia County archive, lightning makes up 6.5% of all recorded severe weather across 12 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
Jul is the peak month for lightning in Escambia County with 14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 8, 2001 | PENSACOLA BEACH | 0 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 6, 1996 | PERDIDO KEY | 0 | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 13, 2008 | PENSACOLA BEACH | 0 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 14, 2003 | FERRY PASS | 0 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Dec 13, 2016 | QUINTETTE | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 22, 2022 | FERRY PASS | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 8, 2022 | CANTONMENT | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2014 | BELLEVIEW | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 30, 2025 | BLUFF SPGS | 0 | $10K |
| Aug 22, 2022 | FERRY PASS | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 8, 2022 | CANTONMENT | 0 | $0 |
| Dec 13, 2016 | QUINTETTE | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2014 | BELLEVIEW | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 28, 2011 | BARRINEAU PARK | 0 | $5K |
| Jul 26, 2011 | PENSACOLA | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 7, 2008 | PENSACOLA | 0 | $10K |
| Oct 7, 2008 | PENSACOLA | 0 | $3K |
| Jul 13, 2008 | PENSACOLA BEACH | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Escambia County
- Thunderstorm Wind 295
- Tornado 99
- Hail 80
- Flash Flood 75
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Two women were killed by lightning near Pensacola Beach at the Fort Pickens State Park. The women were walking side by side on the beach as a thunderstorm moved ashore from the Gulf of Mexico. The storm had not previously been producing much lightning activity, and the women were casually walking to shelter when the bolt struck them. Both women, who were from the local area, were killed instantly.
A father and son were fishing from a pier near I-10 and Escambia Bay. Lightning struck a tall pine tree 20 feet away. The lightning ran down the tree, up the pier where the men were fishing and struck both of them. The 42 year old son died at the scene. His 69 year old father was taken to the hospital and kept for a couple of days and released.
Lightning struck the roof of a church and started a fire. The fire burned for six hours before being put out. There was considerable damage to a roof over a sanctuary and smoke damaged most of the church. No one was in the building near where the strike occurred.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Escambia County, Florida?
42 lightning events are recorded in Escambia County between 1996 and 2025, causing 6 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Escambia County?
The strongest lightning on record in Escambia County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Escambia 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 Escambia County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/escambia-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.