BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – The latest National Lightning Safety Council’s lightning-related death report shows two people lost their lives as a result of lightning over the weekend.
These are the first two deaths of the year in the U.S. and the first reports for Florida and Pennsylvania.
FWC officials confirmed Monday that Peter Strong, 39, of West Melbourne, died in a lightning strike while boating on the Indian River in Brevard County. Severe weather was moving over Brevard County at the time of the incident.
According to the NLSC, boating is the third leading activity in lightning deaths in the U.S. . In the last 17 years, over two dozen lightning deaths have been reported while boating. This data includes two young rowers killed last September when lightning struck leaving the vessel capsized.
A total of 52 lightning-related deaths have occurred in Florida in the last 10 years.
Lightning struck a tree Saturday in Pennsylvania causing a large branch to fall onto a vehicle, ultimately killing the driver. This is the first in the state since July 2021 when a 71-year-old man was struck on a golf course. In the last 10 years, there have been eight lightning-related deaths in Pennsylvania.
The two latest reports are above average for this time of year. Typically through April 16, the national average based on the past 10 years of data collected is one. More people are struck and have died in the months of June, July and August, making summer the most active time of year to see these kind of reports.
There were 466 people struck and killed by lightning in the U.S. from 2006-2022.
Further analysis of the data shows almost two thirds of the deaths occurred to people who had been participating in outdoor leisure activities. Despite popular belief that golfing attributes to the most lightning-related fatalities, fishing has proven to have more death reports due to lightning.
Looking at the data over the last 17-years, fishermen accounted for more than three times as many fatalities as golfers. Beach activities, boating, and camping each accounted for about twice as many deaths as golf.
Outdoor leisure activities still accounts for the most lightning deaths across the nation.
The NLSC analysis of this data shows 2006 to 2022, there were 40 fishing deaths, 29 beach deaths, 25 boating deaths, and 23 camping deaths. Of the leisure activities, water related activities still accounts for 34% of deaths in this category based on the 293 reports made during the same time period.