Lightning kills man in Virginia amid more than 500 nearby strikes
A woman was also injured as hundreds of lightning strikes flashed around Cape Charles during powerful thunderstorms Thursday.
A man captured the moment he was struck by lightning at a golf course in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Aug. 7. Video shows Chris Schiavone sheltering under trees during a severe storm before the strike knocked him to the ground.
A man was killed and a woman was injured by lightning in Cape Charles, Virginia, Thursday afternoon as hundreds of lightning strikes flashed around the coastal community.
The deadly strike happened near Bay Avenue and Washington Avenue around 4 p.m. EDT, according to local authorities and National Weather Service reports.
The AccuWeather Lightning Network detected 512 cloud-to-ground strikes within a 10-mile radius of the fatal incident. Lightning activity peaked between 3:35 and 4:30 p.m. EDT, with as many as 70 strikes detected within a five-minute period.
A cluster of strong thunderstorms moved through the mid-Atlantic on Thursday, producing gusty winds and frequent lightning. Severe thunderstorms produced multiple reports of tornadoes along the I-95 corridor on Thursday, even a rare tornado on Long Island, New York.
Detail of a cumulonimbus cloud with strong electrical activity during a storm
Cape Charles fire and police crews responded to the scene. Authorities said a man died and a woman suffered minor injuries from the same lightning strike.
The death marks the 10th lightning fatality in the United States in 2026 and the first recorded in Virginia since 2023, according to statistics from the National Lightning Safety Council.
The last lightning death in Virginia occurred on April 6, 2023, when a 73-year-old man was killed while boating in Louisa County.
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