Lightning strikes 4 as violent storms hammer St. Louis
By
Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jul 20, 2020 5:44 PM EDT
Lightning strikes in front of the St. Louis' Gateway Arch Sunday evening (Earthcam).
As violent thunderstorms rattled south St. Louis, Missouri, on Sunday night, four people in the city were struck by lightning.
At 9:35 p.m. on Sunday, the St. Louis Fire Department released information regarding the lightning strikes on social media. The department reported that the four victims -- all of whom were men -- were transported by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and one was in critical condition.
"Thunderstorms with a tremendous amount of cloud-to-ground lightning affected Greater St. Louis Sunday evening," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Samuhel said.
"The thunderstorms were most widespread across the area between 7 and 9 p.m. CDT Sunday evening," Samuhel said. "There were around 5,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes across Greater St. Louis during this time frame."
Capt. Garon Mosby of the St. Louis Fire Department confirmed that the four men were struck in Marquette Park around 8 p.m.
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The group of men went to the park to play soccer before the storm rolled in, which, residents told Fox 2 News, the group did every Sunday. According to a neighbor in the area, one man was struck while the others were injured by the force of the bolt.
All four men reportedly fell to the ground after the strike, but only two remained on the ground, a witness told Fox 2 News. The other two who were able to get up attempted to perform CPR on the victim who was hit directly.
Andrea Ford looked from a window in her home after the lightning struck the park and saw two people on the ground.
"The lightning started hitting real hard but then it was a big old boom and lightning shot out the sky and hit the one guy and the other guy that was next to him fell also," Ford told KMOV4 News. "They were doing CPR, so for like 30 minutes, seemed like 30 minutes, and he was still not responding."
Samuhel said to prevent being struck by lightning, it is essential to seek shelter indoors when you hear a rumble of thunder.
"Do anything you can to find shelter," he said. If shelter in a building is not possible, a hard-topped, fully-enclosed vehicle can also provide adequate shelter. "If you are trapped outside [without access to a building or vehicle], crouch down, do not seek shelter under trees," Samuhel said.
Eight people have been fatally struck by lightning so far in 2020 in the United States, according to National Weather Service data.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Severe Weather
Lightning strikes 4 as violent storms hammer St. Louis
By Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Jul 20, 2020 5:44 PM EDT
Lightning strikes in front of the St. Louis' Gateway Arch Sunday evening (Earthcam).
As violent thunderstorms rattled south St. Louis, Missouri, on Sunday night, four people in the city were struck by lightning.
At 9:35 p.m. on Sunday, the St. Louis Fire Department released information regarding the lightning strikes on social media. The department reported that the four victims -- all of whom were men -- were transported by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and one was in critical condition.
"Thunderstorms with a tremendous amount of cloud-to-ground lightning affected Greater St. Louis Sunday evening," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Samuhel said.
"The thunderstorms were most widespread across the area between 7 and 9 p.m. CDT Sunday evening," Samuhel said. "There were around 5,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes across Greater St. Louis during this time frame."
Capt. Garon Mosby of the St. Louis Fire Department confirmed that the four men were struck in Marquette Park around 8 p.m.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
The group of men went to the park to play soccer before the storm rolled in, which, residents told Fox 2 News, the group did every Sunday. According to a neighbor in the area, one man was struck while the others were injured by the force of the bolt.
All four men reportedly fell to the ground after the strike, but only two remained on the ground, a witness told Fox 2 News. The other two who were able to get up attempted to perform CPR on the victim who was hit directly.
Andrea Ford looked from a window in her home after the lightning struck the park and saw two people on the ground.
"The lightning started hitting real hard but then it was a big old boom and lightning shot out the sky and hit the one guy and the other guy that was next to him fell also," Ford told KMOV4 News. "They were doing CPR, so for like 30 minutes, seemed like 30 minutes, and he was still not responding."
Related:
Samuhel said to prevent being struck by lightning, it is essential to seek shelter indoors when you hear a rumble of thunder.
"Do anything you can to find shelter," he said. If shelter in a building is not possible, a hard-topped, fully-enclosed vehicle can also provide adequate shelter. "If you are trapped outside [without access to a building or vehicle], crouch down, do not seek shelter under trees," Samuhel said.
Eight people have been fatally struck by lightning so far in 2020 in the United States, according to National Weather Service data.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo