ORLANDO, Fla. — Severe weather swept through parts of Central Florida on Sunday night, bringing lightning, high winds and hail. It is a leading topic Monday morning as Severe Weather Preparedness Week kicks off. 

What You Need To Know

  • Severe weather over the weekend hit several counties in Central Florida — including Marion, Lake, Seminole and Orange counties

  • Jan. 5-9 is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Florida for 2024

  • Florida experienced four fatal lightning strikes last year, surpassing Texas with two

This week is dedicated to educating the community about severe weather in different forms and safety tips on best practices when that kind of weather is expected to affect your community.

Monday’s focus is lightning. Florida surpassed Texas in 2023 when it comes to deadly lightning strikes, according to data recently released by the Finnish company Vaisala, which tracks lightning strikes globally every year using a lightning detection network. The state had four fatal lightning strikes compared to two in Texas. The four consisted of a boater in Brevard County, a construction worker in Deltona, a pedestrian in Clearwater and someone hunting in Putnam County.

Data from Spectrum News 13’s weather team revealed that the most lightning-prone area in 2022 was the Four Corners area, just southwest of Orlando. However, based on the 2024 report, Four Corners has dropped to fourth place. Florida still tops the chart, though, with the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area now sitting at No. 1.

Though this week of education does not eliminate the potential of danger when it comes to severe weather, the hope of safety experts and meteorologists is that it will aid in keeping people aware of what to do and how to mitigate their chances of being hurt in dangerous severe weather situations.