The number of people killed by Sunday’s storms in the Washington area has risen to four.

Carl Henn of Rockville, who was hit by lightning, died Tuesday night.

Police now say they believe it was also lightning that killed Warren Douglas Smith, 63, of Annapolis.

The Maryland Natural Resources Police say Smith was riding a jet ski a half mile south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. He was racing back to port as the storm blew in when lightning hit near him, electrocuting him, police believe.

Friends say Carl Henn, 48, was a decided environmentalist, who was working in a garden when the storm hit.

Henn ran for Rockville City Council at least three times, they say. He never won, but he was more involved in his community than most.

“It is absolutely an incredible loss. he was one of the very few positive influences in the city–an activist, but a positive activist,” said Rockville Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio.

Henn was at a picnic at King Farm when the fierce storm suddenly hit. He was celebrating the harvest from the three community gardens whose creation he spearheaded.

dale mccarthy was there:

“It was hail at the top of that hill, winds that were beyond belief,” said Dale McCarthy who was there. “It was a microburst kind of situation, it was a tornado touchdown basically and we thought everyone had run to their cars.”

But Henn had ridden his bike, and never made it to safety.

“We found Carl on the ground,” Dennis McCarthy said. “And he had no pulse and was not breathing, so Andre and I yelled to somebody else to call 911.”

But they kept getting busy signals. They finally drove Henn to the hospital in a neighbor’s car.

His friends said it was inexcusable that they couldn’t get through to 911.

Carl Henn was the ideal public citizen, friends say, admired for his civic work, and deeply mourned by his wife, Carol, and daughters, Jessica and Allison.

In addition to Henn and Smith, the other victims of the storm include 6-year-old Eric Lawson, who was killed when a tree fell on him at a Sterling recreation center.

And Michelle Humanick, 44, who died when a tree crashed into her minivan in Beltsville, pinning her and her mother.

ABC 7 News reported on Lawson’s and Humanick’s deaths Sunday night at wjla.com.

via Henn’s Death Raises Storm Victims to 4 | ABC 7 News.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Maryland Natural Resources Police say lightning killed an Annapolis man caught on a personal watercraft during a thunderstorm near the Bay Bridge.

Officials say 63-year-old Warren Douglas Smith and another man were riding two personal watercraft Sunday evening a half-mile south of the bay Bridge when a storm blew in. Smith was pronounced dead at Anne Arundel Medical Center.

Natural Resources Police say a preliminary autopsy determined Smith died of electrocution. Investigators believe he was not hit directly by lightning but electrocuted by a nearby strike. Smith’s companion, 65-year-old Elmer Sappington, was 75 to 100 feet away on another watercraft but was not harmed.

A final autopsy is expected to be conducted in the next month.

via Maryland Storm Death Attributed to Lightning, | WJTV.com.

ST. JOE BEACH, Fla. — A Georgia man has died after being struck by lightning during his Florida vacation.

The Gulf County Sheriff’s Office says 40-year-old David Eugene Lee was hit Sunday while visiting a Panhandle beach with his wife and children.

They spotted gathering storm clouds and began to leave the beach when Lee’s wife heard thunder. She turned around to find her husband collapsed.

Lee was pronounced dead after being rushed to a Port St. Joe hospital.

via Florida vacationer killed by lightning strike – Florida AP – MiamiHerald.com.

A chance to work at the Winter Olympics and experience life as a farmhand on a southern Alberta ranch lured Dean Duchenne from South Africa.

The 22-year-old’s dreams of adventure in the Canadian west came to an abrupt end when he was struck and killed by a bolt of lightning during a storm Thursday.

Claresholm RCMP say Duchenne and two friends were putting up fencing at Sears Ranches Beaver Camp when a threatening storm began rolling in, cutting short their work northwest of Stavely around 5:30 p.m.

As they were heading back to their work truck, Duchenne was blasted by a direct hit of lightning.

“Poor lad. He travelled half way around the world to be here,” said Claresholm RCMP Cpl. Dalyn Orsten.

“I think it’s safe to say that’s not something that’s ever going to happen here again.”

A friend walking beside Duchenne was also injured and knocked unconscious briefly.

An uninjured co-worker performed CPR on Duchenne until help arrived.

Duchenne was taken to High River hospital and later transferred to Calgary’s Foothills.

He died the following morning.

Duchenne arrived in Canada last December with three friends to work at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler.

With many more months left on their visas, the group found work at Sears Ranch in southern Alberta last March.

Despite having no ranching experience, Duchenne was a fast learner and a hard worker, his boss says.

“No experience but he was a good kid. They were all good kids,” said Jeff Sears, who put the young men to work with livestock and other agricultural chores.

Thursday’s freak occurrence is made even more upsetting because the crew were following safety procedures by stopping work under thunderstorm conditions.

“They did everything right, that’s what’s so frustrating,” said Sears.

“He was very, very outgoing, everybody who met him enjoyed him and liked him.”

Famiy and friends in South Africa are still grappling with the random and violent nature of Duchenne’s death.

Friend Chris Le Roux says Duchenne was excited for his Canadian adventure.

“I think he was looking for a break, to get away from everything and do something different,” said Le Roux, who says he regretted skipping the Canada trip to finish his studies.

“He brought the best out of them and people’s confidence soared after meeting him.

“He lived every second of every day to its fullest and I know he passed away with not one regret, except playing rugby for South Africa or the Sharks,” said Le Roux.

Arrangements to transport his body back to South Africa have been made.

Duchenne’s friends left for South Africa to attend the funeral but plan on returning to Canada, Le Roux said.

via Ranch hand killed by lightning strike was following his dream.

Lake Guntersville – Marshall County Coroner Marlon Killion confirms to WHNT News 19 that a 15-year-old girl died Sunday afternoon after being struck by lightning. The girl was swimming with family at the Honeycomb Campground off of Honeycomb Road.

The girl’s mother and sister were also hurt in the strike. Both were taken to Huntsville Hospital.

Killion says the 15-year-old was pronounced dead in the emergency room at Huntsville Hospital.

The Honeycomb Campground is located just off of highway 431 between Huntsville and Guntersville in Marshall County.

via deadly lightning strike marshall county – WHNT.

RAVENNA,Ohio – Joe Strong loved his family, he loved life, and he loved fishing.

Joe and Melissa Strong, along with a friend, were fishing on the Bassett Channel in Ontario Friday afternoon.  They were laughing, joking and catching fish.

But, the sunny, hot summer day changed in an instant.

“All of a sudden the sky was black and there was a lightning strike,” Melissa Strong said.

The couple headed for land, but the storm was too bad. Joe Strong steered the boat into a nearby patch of reeds for protection, Melissa Strong recalled.

Her 41-year-old husband was worried about his uncle who was in a nearby boat. Joe Strong got on the back of his boat to see if his uncle was OK, and he was.

At that precise moment, Joe Strong was hit by lightning, Melissa said.

She attempted to perform CPR on her husband while rescuers tried to reach the boat that was still miles from shore.

Joe and Melissa Strong had been married just 3 months.

Melissa, a newly wed only three days ago, is now a heartbroken widow, who lost her husband and best friend.

“I wake up every morning thinking it was a dream,” she said,” but it’s not a dream.”

via Ravenna family devestated by death.

WALPOLE ISLAND, Ontario – Police are investigating the death of a Northeast Ohio man, who they suspect was killed by lightning.

The 41-year-old Ravenna resident was out on his boat with friends and family on the south end Bassett Channel Friday afternoon.

Walpole Island Police say when the storm moved in, people on the boat tried to seek shelter in some reeds.

According to witnesses on the boat, they heard a loud crack and saw a bright flash.

Immediately after lightning struck, they found the victim lying on the deck unresponsive.

Shortly after 2:00 p.m. Friday, a 911 call was made and the Coast Guard was able to locate the boat and get it to shore.

An autopsy is scheduled for later today. The name of the victim is not being released until family is notified.

via Northeast Ohio Man Killed by Lightning in Canada – WJW.

MONTREAL – A 46-year-old man was in critical condition Sunday morning after he and his wife, 49, were struck by lightning Saturday evening in the city’s east end.

The man suffered severe internal burns and was in cardiac arrest when ambulance technicians took him away about 7:40 p.m. from the corner of Frontenac St. and Notre Dame St., Urgences Santé spokesperson Benoit Garneau said.

“He had some serious internal injuries and was hemorrhaging,” Garneau said. “His wife was also seriously burned, but she regained consciousness as she was being transported to the hospital.”

The man was listed in critical condition in a hospital’s intensive-care unit on Sunday morning, Garneau said.

The couple were under the tree during a thunderstorm and had gone there to watch the fireworks festival later Saturday night. They had folding chairs and an umbrella, which may have attracted the lightning, Garneau said.

“There’s nothing worse for attracting lightning than being under a tree holding something made of metal and with your feet on the ground,” Garneau said. “The lightning struck the tree and hit them directly.”

Elsewhere in Montreal, the strong rains Saturday afternoon and evening caused flooding in the Acadie Circle area resulting in temporary closures of parts of Highways 15 and 40 between roughly 4:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., according to Transport Quebec. The agency has warned motorists to avoid the Decarie Expressway and the Acadie Circle during heavy rainstorms as it is prone to flooding. There were no motorists left stranded in the flooded areas, a Transport Quebec spokesperson said Sunday.

The rains and wind also toppled trees in St. Eustache and Sherbrooke, and hail and a waterspout cloud were seen in Mascouche. A man’s awning was knocked over in Kirkland, causing several people who were under it to run for cover.

There was some flooding reported on Le Carrefour Blvd. near Cure Labelle Blvd. in Laval.

Environment Canada was checking to see if a mini-tornado may have occurred in St. Lazare.

Environment Canada is predicting a warm day on Sunday, with a high of 28C, and then a return to seasonal temperatures for the early part of the week.

According to Environment Canada, lightning is an electrical discharge caused by a build-up of static electricity between thunderclouds, or between thunderclouds and the ground. It can deliver as much as 100 million volts of electricity and strike a target up to 16 kilometres away, making it extremely dangerous.

Thunder is the noise created when air suddenly expands from the heat of a lightning discharge. If you count the seconds between a flash of lightning and a thunder clap, you can tell approximately how close the lightning is to you: each second representing about 300 metres.

Some lightning safety tips:

1) If you can hear thunder, you are within distance of a lightning strike. Take shelter immediately, preferably in a house or all-metal automobile (not convertible top) or in a low-lying area.

2) When there is lightning nearby, head indoors immediately. Stay away from electrical appliances and equipment, doors, windows, fireplaces and anything else that will conduct electricity, such as sinks, tubs and showers. Avoid using a telephone that is connected to a landline.

3) If you are in your car, do not park under tall objects that could topple, and do not get out if there are downed power lines nearby.

4) There is no safe place outdoors during thunderstorms. As such, in situations where you find yourself outside during a thunderstorm, it is best to quickly get to a safe indoor venue as soon as possible, or a car if an indoor area is not available.

5) If you find yourself stuck outside with no other safe option, keep away from trees and other tall hazards, and drop to your knees, bent forward so your head is lower than your back (but not touching the ground) and put your hands on your thighs. Do not lie flat on the ground. Remember that even if you do this, being exposed outside during a thunderstorm with lightning can lead to serious danger, injury and even death.

6) If caught on the water in a small boat with no cabin, quickly get to shore. Boats with cabins offer a safer but still not ideal environment.

7) People who have been struck by lightning do not carry an electrical charge and can be safely handled. Call for medical assistance immediately and, if breathing has stopped, administer mouth-to-mouth or cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.

via Montreal couple struck, burned by lightning.

(NECN: Kenneth Craig, Rindge, N.H.) – A mother and her nine-year-old son were struck by lightning Friday night while heading to their lakeside vacation home.

A bolt of lightning ripped through their campsite, creating a terrifying experience.

“It was scary,” Bonnie Mann said. “I couldn’t move my legs. I was paralyzed for a period of time.”

The two are lucky to be alive after being struck at the Rindge, N.H. Vacation home. It was an almost one-in-a-million chance that they were struck Friday night.

“It was a huge vibrating feeling,” Bonnie Mann said. “[It lasted] long enough to wonder when it was going to stop.”

She said they held each other as they waited for help. Simon asked his mother if they would make it out alive.

The mother and son, who were there with family vacationing from Switzerland, were taken to area hospitals and quickly released. They said all they have to show for their adventure are a few superficial burns and blisters. They are thankful for the way it ended — without serious damage.

The family has about a week left before they had back home. They said they will not be taking any chances with summer storms again.

via Woman struck by lightning, momentarily paralyzed.

VESTABURG — Two people have been airlifted to the hospital and two others were transported by ambulance for treatment after they were struck by lightning outside the Rock Lake Bible Methodist Church this afternoon, police said.

The victims, whose ages range from 10 to 18, were huddled under umbrellas near a baseball field after a sudden storm swept across the region, Montcalm County Undersheriff Mark Bellinger said.

One of the injured boys was unresponsive when authorities received a 911 call about 2:11 p.m.

Each of the four were knocked to the ground and suffered burns and numbness to their extremities, police said.

via Four struck by lightning outside Rock Lake Bible Methodist Church in Vestaburg | MLive.com.