MARGATE -- A postal worker is in critical condition after being struck by lightning Monday as she delivered mail into a mailbox near a tree.

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It was not raining and there were clear skies as Vanessa Little delivered mail in the 500 block of 62nd Way in Margate. Neighbors and witnesses said they heard lightning strike a tree near a mailbox as Little opened it.

Images: Lightning Strikes Postal Worker

"It was a very loud noise. It sounded like a bomb going off in the back yard," witness Paul Geiger said.

"Evidently, this large tree ... was struck by lightning, unfortunately at about the same time she was reaching for the mailbox. So, she was struck, and rescue found her on the ground," said Division Chief Garry Westbrook, of Margate Fire Rescue.

Coworkers went to the scene to find out how their friend was doing.

"There were some burns on her clothing in the chest area," Westbrook said. "She seemed to know that people were speaking with her, but she couldn't speak."

The woman who found Little lying on the ground outside her home did not want to make a comment to NBC 6.

"It was close. I ran inside, and I'm really not scared of lightning. I mean, I live down here in Florida. But it was so close I saw the flashing and I just ran inside and went for cover," witness Michael Prempin said.

The postal worker underwent an X-ray at North Broward Medical Center Monday evening. According to the Miami Herald, Little's condition was downgraded from serious to critical on Tuesday.