41
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
45
Direct injuries
$5.0M
Property damage
Lightning in Orange County, Florida: 41 recorded events between 1996 and 2023. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #70 nationally and #13 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Orange County, Florida: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Orange County is the 2000s, when 21 of the county's 41 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 Orange County archive, lightning makes up 5.5% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #70 for this hazard and #13 within Florida, putting it in the 97.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for lightning in Orange County with 12 recorded events, while Feb 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 1998 | ORLANDO | 0 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 25, 2004 | OCOEE | 0 | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 12, 2000 | ORLANDO | 0 | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Aug 16, 2011 | VINELAND | 0 | 0 | 8 | $0 |
| Jul 22, 1999 | ORLANDO INTL ARPT | 0 | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jul 12, 1999 | ORLANDO | 0 | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jun 19, 1996 | ORLANDO | 0 | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jul 29, 2015 | EDGEWOOD | 0 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2023 | (MCO)ORLANDO INTL AR | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 18, 2019 | BEULAH | 0 | $440K |
| Jul 2, 2019 | NORTH ORLANDO | 0 | $1.0M |
| Jun 27, 2018 | (ORL)ORLANDO EXEC AR | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 16, 2016 | PINE HILLS | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 4, 2015 | BEULAH | 0 | $250K |
| Aug 20, 2015 | CONWAY | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 29, 2015 | EDGEWOOD | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 16, 2011 | VINELAND | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 21, 2011 | FULLERS | 0 | $500K |
Other hazards here
More from Orange County
- Thunderstorm Wind 315
- Hail 273
- Tornado 70
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Frequent to excessive cloud to ground lightning erupted within a cluster of storms over western Orange County between 1530 and 1600 LST. During the next two hours, three homes in Windermere caught fire due to earlier lightning strikes. The first house, damaged by fire, was reported at 1644 LST. One fireman sustained minor indirect injuries due to smoke inhalation while fighting the fire. At 1652 LST, a fire was reported within a large estate home. The fire destroyed the home. A third house fire was reported nearby at 1740 LST and this home was damaged by fire. The following day, shortly before 0900 LST and 15 hours after the lightning storm, another estate home in Windermere caught fire and was destroyed. Fire officials believed that lightning from storms the previous afternoon struck the house and smoldered overnight. One fireman was treated for smoke inhalation while fighting this fire, an indirect, minor injury related to the lightning strike.
As a thunderstorm moved across Winter Park, lightning struck the peak of a building on the Rollins College campus. Although the lightning didn't result in a fire, the strike burnt a large amount of insulation within the attic. The burnt insulation was then deposited as thick soot throughout five classrooms and twenty offices via the air conditioning system. The result was one million dollars in property damage.
Local broadcast media relayed reports from Orange County Fire Rescue that a home along Butler Bay Court in Windermere was destroyed by a fire, which was started after lightning struck the home. The residents of the home had left before the lightning strike occurred. The Orange County Property Appraisers website indicated the home's property value to be approximately $440,000.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Orange County, Florida?
41 lightning events are recorded in Orange County between 1996 and 2023, causing 4 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Orange County?
The strongest lightning on record in Orange County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Orange 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 Orange County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/orange-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.