weather warning

The age-old maxim says lightning never strikes the same place twice. Florida would beg to disagree. The state is the lightning capital of the United States as measured in deaths by lightning, with four fatalities in 2025.

While tornado sirens are a staple across communities in the Midwest and Plains, most cities in Florida have never installed them, instead relying on other methods to get information out about dangerous storms.

Some weather events, like tornadoes, may only provide a few minutes of lead time. Emergency managers, community groups and municipal agencies are working to close those gaps to get people to safety as quickly as possible. But part of the problem is also as simple as human psychology.