Event narrative (NOAA)
Per a report received via a local newspaper, a 44-year-old man was killed after being struck by lightning in Umatilla. At 1721 LST, a man was found unconscious by his neighbors on a small pontoon boat at his home on Lake Owen, on the 40000th block of Long Island Drive in Umatilla. The neighbors called the Lake County Sheriffs Office, and first responders transported the man to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased. The medical examiners office determined the cause of death to be electrocution, and this is further supported by burn marks found on the seat and floor of the boat. NWS Melbourne meteorologists determined the lightning strike occurred around 1258 LST, this was confirmed by reports from the neighbors who heard loud bang of the strike many hours before finding the dece
Other notable lightning events in Florida
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database. Deaths and injuries are those NOAA classifies as direct. Damage is the reporting office's estimate at the time and is not inflation-adjusted. This is a catalogue record, not a forecast.