Lightning — Collier, Florida

2021-07-17 · near Marco, Collier, Florida

Event narrative

Broadcast media relayed a report of a 17-year-old teenage boy from Georgia struck by lightning at Residents Beach on Marco Island due to a thunderstorm in the vicinity. Injuries were severe and the teen was airlifted to a hospital in Miami. Eleven (11) days later on July 28th, he unfortunately passed away due to his injuries.

Wider weather episode

Typical summertime pattern for South FL, with showers and scattered to an isolated storm along the east coast through the first half of the day - transitioning to the interior and southwest Florida with storms becoming more numerous and robust by the afternoon hours. Lightning was the main hazard, and unfortunately struck a teenage boy on Marco Island.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (25.9368, -81.7346)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 970692. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.