Severe thunderstorms affected large areas of central and west Florida on July 4, causing multiple lightning-related incidents during outdoor Independence Day celebrations. Central Florida, which experiences some of the highest lightning densities in the United States, was the focus of two significant events: a premature fireworks explosion in Sanford and a direct lightning strike injury at St. Pete Beach.
At 16:15 local time (LT) in Sanford, a lightning bolt struck a palm tree near the Riverwalk Marina, where fireworks for the annual “Star Spangled Sanford” event were stored. The electrical energy traveled underground, entering the fireworks’ electronic control system and triggering an uncontrolled detonation of over 300 fireworks.
No injuries were reported, but the fireworks system was destroyed and the public display was canceled. The city continued with live music and vendor activities, while urging the public to avoid personal fireworks use. Sanford officials confirmed the incident was caused by a single cloud-to-ground lightning strike that propagated into the marina infrastructure…