Man killed by lightning strike on golf course
By Alexandria Hoff
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WESTAMPTON TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (KYW) — Storms turned deadly Wednesday when a man was killed by a lightning strike on a New Jersey golf course. It happened at Burlington Country Club.
Officials say 70-year-old Michael Florence was on the golf course when he got caught in a pop-up storm.
Storms have the ability to become a lot more serious than they first appear.
This happened just about 500 yards away from the course’s clubhouse.
Ribbons and bolts plagued the skies over Burlington County Wednesday evening — each one, a solemn reminder of what a lightning strike had just taken.
Things looked much different during the mid-afternoon hours — heavy heat meant that the course at the Burlington Country Club in Westampton was not as busy as it might have been.
One golfer said the sky was gray but did not appear immediately threatening.
By 3:30 p.m., things seemed to change in an instant. Radar shows lightning swiftly entering the Westampton/Mt. Holly area.
According to Westampton police, Florence was rushing to seek shelter from the pop-up storm and was fatally injured when lightning struck a tree that was close to him.
He died at the scene near the seventh hole.
It’s unclear exactly how he was injured but the ground is wet from recent heavy rainfall, making it easy for currents to travel.
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