Lightning Strikes Florida Highway, Sending Blacktop Chunk Flying Through Truck Windshield

Rachel DeSantis
·2 min read
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Walton County Fire Rescue, Florida

Two occupants of a Ford pick-up truck were hospitalized after a lightning bolt struck a Florida highway on Monday, sending a piece of roadway flying through the vehicle's windshield, according to authorities.

The incident occurred just after 7:30 a.m. on Monday near mile marker 81 eastbound on I-10, midway between Panama City and Tallahassee, Walton County Fire Rescue said in a news release.

"It's probably pretty unique and it'll probably never happen again," Walton County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Christopher Brown told the New York Post. "The occupants were pretty lucky."

Walton County Fire Rescue said that the lightning strike took off the top layer of the road, and that the damage was about the size of a dinner plate.

Walton County Fire Rescue, Florida

Photos from the scene show that the truck's front windshield was mostly shattered, and was left with a gaping hole. The back windshield, meanwhile, was completely blown out, and pieces of roadway could be seen littering the top of the covered bed.

Red colors reflected on the vehicle were not paint, but a reflection of emergency vehicle lights, Walton County Fire Rescue said.

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There were two people in the car at the time of the crash, and both were transported to the hospital to treat their injuries. Their conditions remain unclear.

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Chris Vagasky, a meteorologist and lightning applications manager at Vaisala, said the bolt had peak current of about 35,000 amps, according to the Washington Post.

Vagasky reportedly said that while it is unclear why the pavement erupted as it did, the lightning likely vaporized water that was trapped within or beneath the roadway's surface.

"It could have flashed into steam," he wrote, according to the Post. "That rapid expansion of liquid water into steam can be why trees debark if they are struck by lightning, and it caused damage to other inanimate objects in the past."