FORT MYERS, Fla. (WSVN) — A Florida man and his neighbor are speaking out about his close call with Mother Nature when a thunderbolt burst from the sky outside of his home.
Fort Myers resident Bruce Van Horne said he was bringing his trash bin into his garage when a flash of light hit his front yard, Tuesday afternoon.
When Van Horne’s neighbor, Cassie Williams, got home, he described to her what just happened.
“So we pulled video camera footage on our cellphones, and we were able to capture the video,” said Williams.
The video shows Van Horne walking into his garage while holding the bin. Four seconds later, Williams’ phone captured a loud crack and a lightning bolt.
“He felt the house shake, and he heard a loud bang. He wasn’t sure where it hit,” said Williams.
The neighbors later discovered the lightning struck a palm tree, as it was caught by the security camera.
“I was right inside the garage door when that happened. There it is! It was a little scary,” said Van Horne.
“It was quite scary, and we definitely all went inside after that,” said Williams.
Van Horne said this close encounter with the natural phenomenon was too close for comfort.
“I felt like it impacted a big blast of air. That’s the closest I ever got to a lightning strike, and I don’t wanna get any closer,” he said.
As for the palm tree, it just got a little burnt.
Neighbors said that what made the lightning strike so unexpected is that there were no dark clouds overhead, and it wasn’t raining at the time.
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