46
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
49
Direct injuries
$1.4M
Property damage
Lightning in Okaloosa County, Florida: 46 recorded events between 1996 and 2017. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #51 nationally and #10 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Okaloosa County, Florida: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Okaloosa County is the 2000s, when 26 of the county's 46 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 Okaloosa County archive, lightning makes up 7.9% of all recorded severe weather across 10 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #51 for this hazard and #10 within Florida, putting it in the 97.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for lightning in Okaloosa County with 12 recorded events, while Nov 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 18, 1996 | (HRT)MARY ESTHER | 0 | 1 | 10 | $0 |
| Mar 6, 1999 | BAKER | 0 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 2017 | BAKER | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 5, 2016 | FT WALTON BEACH | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 26, 2003 | DESTIN | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 12, 2015 | EGLIN VLG | 0 | 0 | 20 | $0 |
| Aug 9, 2006 | VALPARAISO | 0 | 0 | 6 | $0 |
| Feb 22, 2010 | NICEVILLE | 0 | 0 | 4 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 2017 | BAKER | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 5, 2016 | FT WALTON BEACH | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 12, 2015 | EGLIN VLG | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2012 | NICEVILLE | 0 | $25K |
| Feb 22, 2010 | NICEVILLE | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 27, 2009 | DESTIN | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 2, 2007 | MILLIGAN | 0 | $150K |
| Jul 2, 2007 | CRESTVIEW | 0 | $10K |
| Jun 13, 2007 | SHALIMAR | 0 | $60K |
| Aug 9, 2006 | VALPARAISO | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Okaloosa County
- Thunderstorm Wind 276
- Tornado 100
- Hail 66
- Flash Flood 65
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 49 year old male, from the local area, was surfing in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico in front of the Eglin Community Beach Club near Destin when he was struck by a bolt of lightning. Other surfers pulled the man out of the water, and emergency personnel transported him to a local hospital, where he later died. Thunderstorms had moved through the area earlier in the morning. The overcast sky, after most of the storms had moved out of the area, produced the isolated, but deadly, lightning bolt.
A fatal lightning strike occurred while 2 men were on a boat on Hurricane Lake 10 miles Northwest of Baker or 6 miles North of Highway 4 off of Beaver Creek Road. One of the occupants was killed while the other was injured. Upon the approach of a storm, the occupants moved the boat to beneath some trees to escape the rain and were struck.
A boat that was anchored in the Bayou because of Hurricane Dennis. It was struck by lightning and caught on fire. Firefighters could not get to the boat because it was anchored in the Bayou, and they had to watch it burn. It was totally destroyed.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Okaloosa County, Florida?
46 lightning events are recorded in Okaloosa County between 1996 and 2017, causing 5 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Okaloosa County?
The strongest lightning on record in Okaloosa County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Okaloosa 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 Okaloosa County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/okaloosa-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.