A coastal low moved through Florida on Saturday, Dec. 16, bringing heavy rain, strong storms and gusty winds. 

What You Need To Know

  • A coastal storm brought heavy rain and gusty winds to Florida

  • The storms led to flooding and downed power lines

  • One resident captured a strong power surge traveling down the power lines

The strong winds and storms led to downed power lines and flooding. 

A resident in St. Pete captured a frightening power surge across power lines Sunday morning, saying they woke up to no power.

A utility pole caught on fire and fell onto a power line, creating this scene.

This is called an arc flash, an electric discharge of high current. There are many things that cause it, but it likely happened here when electricity jumped from one connection to another when the utility pole fell on the power line.

Regardless, when storms lead to flooding and downed power lines in your area, the best thing to do is stay indoors.

Do not move through the water, as you never know if an electric current is flowing through it.

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