{"id":333584,"date":"2026-07-08T21:25:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T21:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/333584\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T21:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T21:25:11","slug":"fort-myers-beach-lightning-death-raises-storm-safety-questions-lee-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/333584\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Myers Beach lightning death raises storm safety questions | Lee County"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (WINK) \u2014 A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winknews.com\/news\/someone-is-screaming-911-calls-reveal-frantic-moments-after-fatal-lightning-strike-on-fort-myers\/article_47bf726b-b4ca-4dcc-b15a-b592fdc8289c.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">deadly lightning strike on Fort Myers Beach<\/a> has sparked questions about how to stay safe during storms.<\/p>\n<p>WINK News went to the National Weather Service to debunk common myths about lightning safety. Clear skies don&#8217;t mean you&#8217;re safe\u2014lightning can strike 10 to 15 miles away from a storm.<\/p>\n<p>Lying flat on the ground, a widely believed safety measure, actually increases your risk. Getting under a tree is also dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAQAAAAe\/WZNAAAAEElEQVR42mM8U88ABowYDABAxQPltt5zqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\" alt=\"vlcsnap-2026-07-08-17h00m51s136.png\" class=\"img-responsive lazyload full default\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" data- data-\/><\/p>\n<p>You are safer in your car during a lightning storm, but not because of the tires. The car&#8217;s metal shell helps protect you, according to the National Weather Service.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winknews.com\/weather\/explainers\/lightning-has-killed-5-people-on-swfl-beaches-since-2006-what-you-should-know\/article_eedf800a-01c4-4cc5-a8e2-066ad81abfcb.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Lightning has killed 5 people on SWFL beaches since 2006, what you should know<\/a><\/p>\n<p>NOAA and the CDC say you should avoid plumbing and plugged-in electronics during a lightning storm. Metal objects are particularly dangerous because they conduct electricity.<\/p>\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAQAAAAe\/WZNAAAAEElEQVR42mM8U88ABowYDABAxQPltt5zqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\" alt=\"vlcsnap-2026-07-08-17h01m00s469.png\" class=\"img-responsive lazyload full default\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" data- data-\/><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You want to avoid touching anything metal if you&#8217;re stuck in a boat or near any kind of objects; you want to avoid touching the metal, because that is a conductor,&#8221; a National Weather Service representative said. &#8220;Even if lightning doesn&#8217;t directly strike that, the electricity could pass through that and into you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The National Weather Service also recommends avoiding showers or baths during storms. Lightning can enter your home through plumbing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (WINK) \u2014 A deadly lightning strike on Fort Myers Beach has sparked questions about&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210,1695,2072],"class_list":["post-333584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news","tag-fort-myers-beach","tag-national-weather-service"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}