Ocala people- tonight's intense thunderstorm

[STABLESWOT]

Lightning of significant severity
Here is the official weather report:

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSONVILLE FL
718 PM EDT TUE AUG 4 2009

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSONVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
CENTRAL MARION COUNTY IN NORTHERN FLORIDA

* UNTIL 800 PM EDT

* AT 719 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING PENNY SIZE HAIL...AND
DAMAGING WINDS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED NEAR
OCALA AIRPORT...OR NEAR OCALA...AND MOVING EAST AT 10 MPH.

* OTHER LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO OCALA
AND SILVER SPRINGS SHORES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

REPORT SEVERE WEATHER OR DAMAGE TO THE NEAREST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
OR YOUR COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.




Hope everybody is OK out there because the lightning is very strong and frequent. Those clouds are ugly and they are still active. This storm seems to be existing for a longer duration of time than the typical daily storms. Each day this month they seem to be more severe. I grew up in the Tampa Bay area so I have seen bad storms before but the in last few years since hurricane Charlie every storm seems to have even more lightning.

[spook1]

My friend shares a barn with some people and before they could get all their horses in a mare got stuck and killed while waiting to be brought in....very sad.:cry:

[MCarverS]

Thank you for the heads up! So far, so good, I think it's past our area.

[MCarverS]

My friend shares a barn with some people and before they could get all their horses in a mare got stuck and killed while waiting to be brought in....very sad.:cry:

I send my condolences, that is such a freak and awful thing to have happened. I'm going to go out and check on our horses right now.

[MunchkinsMom]

All clear here in Citra, nice full moon, with a lovely lightning show going on behind it to the east of us.

[STABLESWOT]

My friend shares a barn with some people and before they could get all their horses in a mare got stuck and killed while waiting to be brought in....very sad.:cry:

OH NO THAT IS SUCH A TRAGEDY!

That storm was so slow moving yet such strong lightning the risk of damage was much higher than usual. Unfortunately as your friend tried to do one can obey all the safety "rules" and still the lightning is so unpredictable in it's behavior.

I am so very sorry to read about this loss.

[witherbee]

We were on our way to dinner and there was a crash as we sat at a stop light that shook the car - felt like it hit about 100 feet behind us. We were afraid to get out of the car when we got to the restaurant, so waited a few minutes, but it just kept pouring and crashing/booming. We made a dash for it and got soaked, even with the umbrella. The light flickered several times at the restaurant.

So sad to hear about the mare - we counted heads when we got home. It's always a fear here, and many horsess do get hit over the course of the summer. One of the frightening things about living here. It's been a rougher summer than usual as far as the strength and severity of these T-storms....

[Lori T]

What is up with these storms?? We have been getting storms with over 500 strikes PER MINUTE in the Orlando area!! And there is so much rain so fast, for the first time we have standing water everywhere...we are seriously screwed if we get a hurricane soon.