Lightning strike sends bride scrambling during photo shoot, NC photographer says
A lightning strike sent a bride scrambling during a photo shoot in North Carolina.
“Once the initial strike happened and we immediately fell to the ground, my first instinct was we got to get out of there,” Katie McDaniel, who had been posing for pictures before her upcoming wedding, told WCNC. “I thought the tree was going to fall when the lightning struck it. I heard the cracking.”
McDaniel told the TV station she thinks the lightning sent a current through the tree’s roots, jolting the people in her group. The ordeal happened at Carver’s Gap, near the North Carolina-Tennessee border and a roughly 65-mile drive northeast from Asheville.
Photographer Brianna Pendley said skies were blue when the group of four ventured up Roan Mountain on June 27. Then it started to rain and hail, forcing everyone to seek cover, according to a Facebook post.
“Within literal milliseconds we were on the ground screaming because (lightning) had struck the tree/ground that we were under,” Pendley wrote. “I felt the electricity in my feet and legs, and saw smoke coming from the ground so I knew it wasn’t good.”
After the lightning came out of the sky with “no warning,” the dirt-covered group scurried down the mountain to safety, Pendley wrote on social media and told WSOC.
“At the bottom we ran into a bunch of people, some who said they seen the (lightning) strike where we were and heard the crying and screaming and were concerned,” the photographer wrote. “We all ended up in the ER getting tests done and hooked to monitors.”
No serious injuries were reported. Pendley said she feels “blessed to live to tell about” the frightening moments.
“Yesterday was literally the scariest day of my life, hands down,” she wrote June 28.
Pendley and McDaniel didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ requests for comment on July 3.
When thunderstorms hit, experts urge people to head inside immediately. If that’s not possible, it’s recommended to go to an area with lower elevation, avoid sheltering under isolated trees and get out of bodies of water, according to the National Weather Service.
This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 11:30 AM with the headline "Lightning strike sends bride scrambling during photo shoot, NC photographer says."
