PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Friday's severe weather left a trail of impacts across the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County.
Video after video sent to the WPTV newsroom from Sebastian showed a large waterspout passing over the Indian River Lagoon Friday afternoon.
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In Port St. Lucie, WPTV weather spotters captured video of heavy rain moving through the area. Merry Moore O'Rourke said her rain gauge caught over 3 inches.
"All of a sudden, it got black. The wind started just raging and the sky had lit up like I have not seen," Moore O'Rourke said.
Severe weather stretched all the way to Okeechobee County, where fire rescue crews airlifted a man to the hospital after he was struck by lightning.
Port St. Lucie also saw significant lightning activity. The St. Lucie County Fire District said crews contained a brush fire near the 1900 block of Castinet Lane after reports that a lightning strike ignited vegetation in a nearby lot.
At the 900 block of Bellevue Avenue, fire crews responded to an evening house fire. At the time of the storm, our radar picked up a significant amount of lightning in the area. However, the St. Lucie County Fire District said it cannot confirm the cause, as the fire marshal's office still needs to investigate.
Moore O'Rourke summed up what many across the region felt as the storms moved through.
"I mean it was radical. I mean it was — it was a little scary," Moore O'Rourke said.
From waterspouts to lightning strikes and fires, Friday’s severe weather reminds us all of nature's unpredictable power.
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