A lightning strike hit I-10 Monday morning, sending a piece of the road through a truck's windshield. Both occupants were injured.
© Walton County Fire RescueA lightning strike hit I-10 Monday morning, sending a piece of the road through a truck's windshield. Both occupants were injured.
Two people were injured by lightning in Walton County, Florida, just after 7:30 a.m. Monday morning. The way in which they sustained their injuries just probably isn't what you're thinking.

As heavy thunderstorms rolled through the Florida Panhandle, there were numerous lightning strikes occurring -- including plenty that were cloud-to-ground. One of those strikes happened to hit the eastbound side of I-10 around mile marker 81.

Upon impact, the lightning strike sent a chunk of the interstate flying through the air.

That debris went through the windshield of a Ford pickup traveling on I-10 before then exiting through the back window. Both the windshield and back window were shattered by the force of the impact.


Both occupants in the truck were transported, according to a Facebook post made by Walton County Fire Rescue.

When lightning travels from cloud to ground and vice versa, it can heat the air around it to upwards of 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. For perspective, that's five times hotter than the surface of the sun.

The result is an exceptionally dangerous transfer of energy between the lightning itself and whatever object it hits. And that can include objects that aren't tall -- contrary to what many people may think. Always treat thunderstorms as dangerous no matter what you are doing.