On an early September afternoon in 1993, a Florida meteorologist was about to get the shock of his life – inside his own home.
Brown packing boxes stood stacked and scattered all over the Sussman family home in Jacksonville. Brad Sussman shoveled random items into any available container while his two young sons played a few feet away. He taped boxes and dusted corners. The movers were on the way. After 15 years as a meteorologist for WJKS Channel 17 in Jacksonville, Sussman had accepted a job at a TV station in Cleveland, Ohio. The family was only hours away from starting their 900-mile move out of Florida.
Of course, the weatherman was leaving in a hellacious storm. Rain hit the window so loud it sounded like metal pellets ringing against the glass. But as a Floridian of many years and trained meteorologist, Sussman was used to afternoon thunderstorms. He was also highly informed about lightning, and wouldn’t be so naive as to step outside…