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What most people saw in our sky after midnight on Aug. 20 was like nothing they had ever witnessed in their lifetime! Florida showed why it’s the lightning capital of the U.S. with over 90,000 lightning strikes recorded in the state within 24 hours that day.

The continuous lightning lasted for more minutes than anyone felt like videoing it. I personally witnessed it for at least 10-15 minutes, but it was almost certainly going for at least 15 minutes before I noticed because I could lightly hear the thunder from inside.

What made this lightning storm extra remarkable was how eerily quiet the thunder was despite all those bolts! This happened because the storm cloud was over 46,000 feet high, which is about 8–9 miles up in the sky. The sound of lightning turns into a light rumble at that distance, which people usually think of as a horizontal distance, but this time it was vertical. This was probably for the best because if it had been closer to the ground, it would have sounded very scary and kept everyone awake!

Experts say lightning can strike 25 miles away from its storm, so even though this lightning was super high, I noticed bolts did occasionally reach the ground. It is tempting to watch such powerful natural beauty, but best do it from indoors.

➡ If you capture a great photo of any recent or upcoming weather event, please reply to send it to us for a chance to be featured next week!

Earlier this summer we announced that we’re searching for South Tampa’s best classic cheeseburger. A reader tipped us off to the burgers cooked in a wood-fired pizza oven at Pane Rustica. While their rotating menu doesn’t offer a classic cheeseburger, we couldn't resist trying a wood-fired burger.

The beef patty did absorb a smoky flavor and was visibly juicy, but the dense potato bun paired with that day’s burger masked the smoke flavor. It tasted much smokier without that bun. All the other ingredients were high quality, except the tomato with two hard green cores we had to cut out. 😬

Pane Rustica no doubt has the skills and ingredients needed to craft an excellent burger, but this version wasn’t it. Ideally, they’d offer a classic cheeseburger everyday to give wood-fired burger fans a reliable option with ripe tomatoes.

If you’ve ever relaxed on the beach at Picnic Island Park, you might wonder how it got that name when it’s not even an island!

This park is actually old— 1800s old. Back then, Picnic Island was an actual standalone island just off the shore of Port Tampa. Henry B. Plant’s railroad had just transformed Port Tampa into a busy shipping hub, and this nearby island became the area’s premier nature escape from the industrial port. Local developers outfitted the island as a waterfront resort featuring sandy bathing beaches, shaded park grounds, and even a dance pavilion. It became the go-to destination for day-trippers and port workers seeking a picnic on the bay.

Later industrial dredging projects attached the island to the mainland with a road, but the park’s name stuck. Today’s Picnic Island Park continues over 130 years as a favorite coastal respite for South Tampans.

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Tourists enjoy shelling for multiple reasons—the thrill-of-the-hunt, mindful meditation, low-impact exercise, photography, and the chance to turn free finds into beautiful crafts. A lot of our area beaches are fairly clean and crowded, but shelling is one of Clearwater Beach’s best-kept secrets. Just a few steps north of where the waterfront restaurants end, the beach vibe feels private, and the shelling is some of the best and most accessible in the area.

Roundtrip drive time from South Tampa: 1.5 hours

Last week we asked where you recommend out-of-town guests eat in South Tampa, and the answers we got were not in South Tampa. But they were great answers for the wider Tampa Bay area, so we’d love to collect more reader recommendations and share a bigger list with you next week:

Where do you recommend your out-of-town visitors eat in the Tampa Bay area?

To answer our question within South Tampa: We recommend visitors eat at Salt Shack on the Bay for the Floridian food and cocktails with sunset over water views.

Create a More Enjoyable Community: Our mission is to help you live your best life in South Tampa by creating a more fun and connected community. If you like this idea, there are several free and paid ways you can support it:

Independent & Transparent: The Scroll is independently owned and written by a South Tampa resident. Positive mentions can’t be bought. We only include things we have personally tried or trust the person who did doesn’t benefit from mentioning it. We do not include links to businesses unless they are not-for-profit or paid sponsors we have vetted and noted as such. Clicking on asterisked items (*) may provide us with affiliate compensation, which helps fund us to keep creating for you!

Your Local Writer & Founder: Danielle is a lover of food, craft cocktails, wine, travel, nature, and history. After living in Ohio, Dallas, New Zealand, and 37 countries as a digital nomad, Danielle decided South Tampa was the best place to settle in 2022. She blends a world’s worth of experiences with local expertise as a Meetup event organizer and marketing director to ensure The Scroll is always worth your read!