Lightning injures 20 swimmers at South Carolina lake
Two dozen people have been injured by lightning in recent days across the Southeast, including in Florida where a group of four friends were knocked unconscious when a thunderstorm struck.
When your hair stands up during a thunderstorm, it could mean lightning is about to strike your location. If you ever feel this sensation, take cover immediately.
Summer is in full swing across the United States, and as people spend more time outdoors, they are at a higher risk of being impacted by the weather, including potentially deadly lightning strikes. Over the past week, dozens have been injured and at least one person has died due to lightning strikes at beaches across the southeastern United States, including one incident that sent multiple people to the hospital.
20 injured by single lightning strike in South Carolina
On Tuesday afternoon, emergency services responded to an incident at Lake Murray Dam, located around 15 miles west of Columbia, South Carolina, where 20 people were hit by a single bolt of lightning. A dozen of the individuals were transported to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, and everyone is expected to recover.
The group of people who were struck were all swimming in the lake at the park when the lightning strike hit nearby in the water.
"The bolt of lightning that hit the water energized a metal cable with buoys on it that surrounds the swimming area. Several people had swam out to the buoys and were holding onto the cable when it hit, and others were nearby swimming," Irmo Fire District posted on Facebook. "Everybody got quite a jolt, we’re so fortunate that injuries were not worse than they were."
It was not raining at the time the lightning hit. Experts warn that if you are close enough to a storm to hear thunder, you are close enough to be in danger of being struck by lightning.
Lightning hits Florida beach, knocks 4 women unconscious
Lightning strikes near a beach in Naples, Florida. (Getty Images)
A vacation in Florida almost turned deadly after a lightning strike at a beach knocked four women unconscious. The four women, who are all friends visiting from Kentucky, were spending some time along the Gulf coast in Marco Island, Florida, Saturday when a thunderstorm quickly approached.
"The siren went off, and we knew there was a storm coming," said Danielle Sturgill, who was one of the women who was struck, according to ABC News. "The nearest thing to us was a little tiki hut and that's where we decided to take shelter."
A person nearby was filming the storm and miraculously captured footage of the lightning strike hitting the beach.
Video captured the moment lightning struck a beach in Marco Island, Florida, on June 21.
All four were unconscious for a time and were later transported to a local hospital, where they were treated with minor injuries.
"When I first woke up, I couldn't feel my legs at all. They were completely numb," said Kelli Bryant, another one of the women who was under the hut at the time of the strike.
During Lightning Safety Week from June 22-28, AccuWeather speaks with Chris Vagasky of the National Lightning Safety Council on the dangers of lightning and how they’ve helped save lives for 25 years.
One day earlier, a 29-year-old Colorado man on his honeymoon died after being hit by lightning at New Smyrna Beach, Florida, located about 45 miles northeast of Orlando.
"So sorry for the tragic loss of a young man here on a delayed honeymoon with his wife," Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said. "At 29 years old, he should have had many more anniversaries with her for years to come. Sending sincere condolences to this young woman on behalf of all of us in Volusia County who were hoping against hope that the diligent efforts of our lifeguards, EMS team and ER staff would bring him back to her."
There have been four lightning-related fatalities across the United States so far in 2025, according to the National Lightning Safety Council (NLSC).
Being at the beach is one of the "deadly dozen" activities for lightning-related deaths and ranks as the second-deadliest, only after fishing. Since 2006, lightning has killed 32 people at beaches across the country.
This week is Lightning Safety Awareness Week, when officials highlight the danger of lightning as people spend more time outdoors during the summer months. Most of lightning injuries and deaths occur in June, July and August.
"National Lightning Safety Awareness week was started in 2001 to call attention to this underrated killer. Since then, U.S. lightning fatalities have dropped from about 55 per year to about 20," the NLSC explained. "This reduction in fatalities is believed to be largely due to greater awareness of the lightning danger, and people seeking safety when thunderstorms threaten."
You can receive alerts on your phone when lightning is detected in your area by downloading the free AccuWeather app and enabling lightning alerts for your location.
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