By Phil HelselNBC
News
A lightning bolt killed a Florida woman Thursday as she waited in a park for her son to come out of a nearby school, authorities said.
Lightning struck a tree near Trotwood Park in Winter Springs, north of Orlando, around 2:20 p.m. ET, police said in a statement.
Another child who was with the woman and a dog had to receive medical attention, but is fine, he said.
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“While they were waiting [for a child to come out of an area school], lightning struck and energized the area,” police Capt. Doug Seely told reporters, according to video from local NBC station WESH in Orlando.
Authorities did not release the name of the victim or his family.
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The National Weather Service had warned of thunderstorms and lightning in the area on Thursday.
In some places, such as around the community of Christmas, east of Orlando, a warning was issued for excessive lightning.
Between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., about 60 lightning strikes were recorded in Winter Springs, a figure considered excessive according to Tony Cristaldi, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Melbourne, Florida.
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"It's the storms that are close to the beginning and the ones that don't produce a lot of lightning that can be more dangerous," he said, because when there's more lightning, people are more likely to take shelter.
But any thunderstorm can produce lightning, and any lightning can cause injuries, he recalled.
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Florida's deadly lightning strike came two weeks after three people were killed when lightning struck a tree in Lafayette Park across from the White House.
According to the authorities, people should not take shelter under trees when there is lightning in the area.
They must take shelter in a locked building or a metal hardtop vehicle if no building is available, according to the weather service.