106
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
31
Direct injuries
$1.4M
Property damage
Lightning in Santa Rosa County, Florida: 106 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #6 nationally and #5 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Santa Rosa County, Florida: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Santa Rosa County is the 2010s, when 58 of the county's 106 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 Santa Rosa County archive, lightning makes up 16.0% of all recorded severe weather across 11 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #6 for this hazard and #5 within Florida, putting it in the 99.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Aug is the peak month for lightning in Santa Rosa County with 22 recorded events, while Oct 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 15, 2005 | NAVARRE | 0 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 13, 2014 | ALLENTOWN | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 2017 | NAVARRE | 0 | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Aug 9, 1998 | HAROLD | 0 | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Aug 10, 2019 | MILTON | 0 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Aug 23, 2017 | HAROLD | 0 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 4, 2002 | MUNSON | 0 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 23, 2025 | NAVARRE | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 2025 | NAVARRE | 0 | $0 |
| May 10, 2024 | BROXSON | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 16, 2022 | NAVARRE | 0 | $10K |
| Aug 16, 2022 | GULF BREEZE | 0 | $10K |
| Aug 11, 2020 | MILTON | 0 | $10K |
| Aug 11, 2020 | MILTON | 0 | $50K |
| Aug 7, 2020 | PACE | 0 | $5K |
| Jan 11, 2020 | MILTON | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 10, 2019 | MILTON | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 2019 | PACE | 0 | $5K |
Other hazards here
More from Santa Rosa County
- Thunderstorm Wind 294
- Hail 80
- Tornado 75
- Flash Flood 68
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tourist from Louisiana was killed while walking on Navarre Beach. An eleven year old daughter of a friend was walking with him when the strike occurred. The girl was treated for minor injuries at the scene. The man was found in the surf and was pronounced dead at the scene. They were walking along the beach in between a thunderstorm to the west of them and one approaching from the east when the strike occurred.
A crane being used for construction on Navarre Beach was caught in winds and was also struck by lightning from a storm that moved in from the east. The workers saw the storm coming and were trying to get the crane lowered when winds bent the crane and lightning struck the tall crane. No one was injured.
A 40 year old male was struck by lightning at the intersection of Avalon blvd and Tuscarora trail. After the strike the man noticed his pants were burned…the hairs on his arm singed…and he complained of a severe headache. He was transported to a local hospital.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Santa Rosa County, Florida?
106 lightning events are recorded in Santa Rosa County between 1996 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Santa Rosa County?
The strongest lightning on record in Santa Rosa County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Santa Rosa 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 Santa Rosa County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/santa-rosa-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.