In Florida, lightning can strike anywhere -- and usually does

I was dreaming some kind of dream. I can’t remember the details, but it was a warm and fuzzy feeling. It was a nice place... a cool dream... then...

"BOOM!"

"BOOM!"

I was jerked out of la-la-land and into the middle of a massive thunderstorm. Thunder and lightning were everywhere. The bedroom was lit up like daytime. Boom! Was that Rod Sterling standing in the corner? Bam! It sounded like the roof was going to cave in. The wide-eyed cat was running from room to room in a panic. Boom! The electricity went off. It came back on. With the next lightning strike, it went off again.

I went to a window and watched the trees sway back and forth. The lightning was sure better than any Fourth of July fireworks show. I was, seriously, waiting for a lightning bolt to start a house on my street on fire. Boom! I was just hoping it wasn’t mine.

That recent lightning storm was one of the loudest, closest I’ve ever experienced. The clouds must have been real low, and were definitely directly over my neighborhood. I felt like I was in the eye of the storm. It was hard to fall back to sleep after the storm finally passed.

The reality of it: It was just another day in paradise. Just another summer day in paradise, anyway.

Did you know that Florida is the lightning capital of the country? The central part of the state from Tampa to Orlando to Daytona Beach and Melbourne has more lightning strikes than anywhere else. It’s something you won’t see in any slick tourist brochure ("Visit Florida! Lose all your hair and brain activity in one easy afternoon golf outing!")

But if you live in Florida, or are planning to visit during the stormy summer months, you need to know these things.

Some lightning facts:

** Forget Hurricane Andrew. On the average, lightning-related storms are the No. 1 weather-related killer in Florida.

** Florida averages 10 deaths each year from lightning strikes.

** About 40 people are hit by lightning in Florida every year but don’t die. Of course, which is worse: Death or being brain-fried like a piece of old dry toast?

** Meteorologist types refer to Central Florida, the area from Tampa to Daytona Beach, as "Lightning Alley." They don't laugh when they say that.

** Lightning does $6 billion in damages each year across the country, most of it in Florida.

When the next lightning storm rolls into your area, don’t do anything stupid.

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