Father, daughter speak out after surviving lightning strike at spring training in Florida
Central Florida is the lightning capital of the United States
Father and daughter on surviving lightning strike after being temporarily paralyzed
John and Ashley Moberg, lightning survivors, recount to FOX Weather the terrifying moment when both were hit by lightning outside of a Yankees spring training game in Tampa. Ashley Moberg says the loud boom sounded like ‘a bomb went off’ and thought her dad ‘was dead’ after his head hit the pavement.
TAMPA, Fla. – A father and daughter are lucky to be alive after they were struck by lightning outside a spring training game for the New York Yankees Saturday during a stormy weather pattern in Florida.
Ashley and her father, John Moberg, were in the parking lot outside Steinbrenner Field when they saw a flash, heard a bang and the next moments became a blur.
"All of a sudden there was such a bright flash and a loud boom, almost like a bomb went off. And then I was flying through the air. My ears were ringing. I saw my dad hit his head on the ground, and he was unconscious and paralyzed, so I thought he was dead," Ashley Milberg told FOX Weather.
Her dad was alive but temporarily knocked unconscious by the force of Mother Nature.
"Well, I didn’t realize lightning had struck, I felt like I was in a dream. I woke up with my face in the mud but totally unable to move," John Moberg said.
Paramedics transported the Chicagoans to an area hospital, where they were treated for their injuries.
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"It’s like when somebody rubs their socks on the floor and gives you a static shock, but over your whole body. There was this electrical burning smell like wires got fried. Aside from that, I didn’t feel much, and I didn’t really feel anything in the moment because you’re in so much shock," Ashley said
After doctors gave the Mobergs the OK to be discharged, the duo returned to the area where the lightning struck to see if they could recount the incident.
"I went to look for the necklace that melted off. But unfortunately, I couldn’t find it ," Ashley stated.
The Illinois residents were the only reported injuries from the storms and safely made it back home, where they are counting their blessings.
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The weather system that produced the wet over Florida’s West Coast also produced plenty of lightning over the Space Coast.
Cameras captured the moment lightning struck the Kennedy Space Center’s launch complex, where a massive moon rocket was undergoing a dress rehearsal.
Due to severe weather protocols and the lightning protection system, neither the rocket nor any crew members were impacted by the strikes.
The Sunshine State averages 14.6 million lightning strikes each year, with many occurring during the summer storm season.