Fort Myers Beach working to secure funding for lightning detection alarms

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. (WINK) — The Town of Fort Myers Beach says it's working to secure funding for a lightning detection system that would alert beachgoers to unsafe conditions.

"We are exploring a beach-specific solution that would provide internal alerts and include public siren capabilities," said a spokesperson for FMB in a statement. "Such a system will likely require a significant investment. We believe there may be an opportunity to partner with the Tourist Development Council (TDC) to secure funding."

If the funding is obtained, the town's spokesperson said a solution could be implemented within the next six to eight months.

Lee County has real-time weather monitoring stations in 22 public parks and elementary schools.

The sensors can be accessed online as they track lightning within 10 miles of a park. Some of the sensors emit a 15-second siren to warn families at the parks to take cover.

Charles Finco, who played at Canterbury School and now coaches a travel team, says the lightning detection system, like what FMB is looking to implement, is a vital resource in keeping kids safe.

"The lightning in Florida is just so bad, and that was, you know, one of the first things you hear when you move here," Finco said. "You experience it playing baseball."

During storm season, the sirens have gone off almost every day in the six years he's been playing baseball in Florida. When he hears the siren, his first thought is simple.

"Get to my car," Finco said.

When his travel team practices and the alarm goes off, he sends players to their parents' cars or takes them indoors to a break room.

"They'll get them to their car, covered and safe somewhere," Finco said. "Especially with all the stuff I've seen on the news, you know, it's devastating."

A man who used to help with a little league told WINK News the alarm is loud enough to wake the dead because it needs to be heard from the baseball and football fields and tennis courts. The technology takes the guesswork out of safety.

"Having stuff like that is definitely good," Finco said.

With the lightning detectors being used every day at parks, visitors from Kentucky are wondering why those same alarms aren't on the beach.

"In our experience, there's been a lot more people on the beach than in the parks. Especially just this weekend. Yeah. You know, the Fourth of July, right?" Dan Litman and Angela Roth said.

Litman and Roth know how dangerous lightning is, living in tornado alley. Even Florida storms caught them off guard with how quickly they form.

"I feel like you see the clouds in the darkness off in the distance, but you don't really know if they're coming towards you unless you're looking at a radar," they said.

They say heading indoors during a storm is common sense, but for visitors who don't know just how unpredictable Florida weather is, lightning detectors with alarms could be beneficial.

"If they're doing them in the parks, maybe consider doing something here," they said.

Litman and Roth had never heard of a lightning sensor before learning about them during their visit.

"I think it would be wonderful. Especially if people aren't from an area where they pop up like this with the dangerous lightning in the water. I think it would be great," they said.

While FMB works to get lightning sensors installed across beaches, Lee County does have a weather sensor at the Pink Shell. The sensor can be accessed on the county's website and tracks how many lightning strikes there have been within a certain distance.

The couple told WINK News they've been tracking storms on their phones while visiting Southwest Florida and always erring on the side of caution if they see a storm. They have been in the area since Friday and have noticed more people on the beach than at parks.

Cape Coral has invested in real-time weather monitoring stations at 18 park locations using Earth Networks. The city has a plan to add two more sensors at Festival Park and Yellow Fever in the future.

Residents and visitors can monitor the Cape Coral locations by visiting the city's Lightning & Rain-Out Alert webpage.

Full Statement from Lee County:

Lee County has invested in a countywide network of real-time weather monitoring stations, WeatherSTEM. Residents and visitors can monitor current weather locations here.

Note, many of these WeatherSTEM locations are not just in public areas, but are affiliated with private property, providing extensive coverage and ability for individuals to monitor lightning.

Additionally, some Lee County Parks & Recreation sites have detection systems in place. The county maintains a landing page so the public can monitor alerts and be aware of sites with a detection system. The page also provides links to the landing pages for the School District of Lee County and the City of Cape Coral.

Not all monitored locations include audible detections, hence the recommendation that smartphone apps and websites are monitored and used while park patrons are outdoors. The county recommends using smartphone apps such as WeatherSTEM or WeatherBug.

The county recommends that if you are at a location that does not have an alert system, you follow the National Weather Service 30/30 lightning rule (if, after seeing lightning, you cannot count to 30 before hearing thunder, it is best to seek shelter indoors).