Event narrative (NOAA)
Highlands County Sheriff and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers discovered the vehicle and bodies of two men and their hunting dogs on a levee along a canal near Rucks Dairy Road southeast of Brighton in Highlands County. The men had reportedly gone hunting but had not returned, and were discovered two days later. Investigators suspected the fatal lightning strike likely occurred on Monday, September 22, as the men attempted to return to their car for shelter, with the time of the incident estimated from radar and satellite data.
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.