Lightning Torments South Florida

South Florida has experienced a slew on lightning strikes over the past four days. Four people have died from strikes in the past two months.

A bolt hit Michelle St. Val's car on I-595 on Friday. Saturday lightning struck a Mobil gas station in Miramar, putting a hole in the roof. On Monday lightning again struck a car traveling on I-75 in Miami-Dade County and then lightning blew the windows out on a home just a few miles away.

During a lightning storm, the safest place to be is inside a home or building. Still, that isn't always fool-proof. Lightning can travel through wiring, plumbing, and even the wire mesh in concrete floors. The weather service urges people to stay off corded phones, turn off electrical appliances, and don't use water.

Florida has an average of 1.4 million lightning strikes a year, most of them just striking ground.

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Mom & Son Survive Lighting Hit to Car on 595

Michelle St. Val, 23, of Fort Lauderdale was on her way to the airport to pick up her brother on I-595 on Friday evening with her 4 year old son, Mikyal, belted in the backseat.

The sky threatened rain but conditions were dry when her car was struck by lightning, inches above Mikyal's head.

The music in the car stopped, her son was showered in glass, and her car was powerless and moving across three lanes of traffic.

An FHP officer determined that the bolt struck the upper left corner of the rear window, traveled through the car's frame, and exited on the right side back tire. The entire electrical system in the car was burned out.

Though St. Val, Mikyal, and the front-seat passenger were shaken, no one was injured.

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