Lightning safety tips: Here are the worst places to be during a lightning storm

Three people, including a mother and her child, were struck by lightning in Winter Springs Thursday afternoon. FOX 35 Storm Team Meteorologist Brooks Garner has some tips on what you should and should not do when a lightning storm is approaching.

ORLANDO, Fla. - An average of ten people in Florida are killed by lightning strikes each year. As summer brings storms almost each afternoon, there are some things you can do to stay safe if lightning is near.

"This may seem like review, but it's something to be reminded of," said FOX 35 Storm Team Meteorologist Brooks Garner. "Just remember lightning strikes the tallest object. You do not want to seek shelter under a tree."

He says some people run to a tree to get away from the other elements and it seems like a safe, dry place. But the problem is if you're within 20-feet of a tree that gets hit, you could get hit – and unfortunately it happens.

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"There was a lightning death earlier this year in Volusia County with a man working on a palm tree. He was on the palm tree doing some landscaping and got hit. Two girls in Merritt Island – both teenagers – were hit by lightning from a side strike that hit a palm tree they were just walking under and it even wasn't raining where they were."

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Garner suggests staying away from open fields, the top of hills, ridges, trees and other tall objects when lightning is present.

And remember: when thunder roars, come indoors!