Lightning, Fairbanks/Tanana Valley
- When
- August 6, 2:55 PM AST to 3:10 PM AST
- Where
- Fairbanks/Tanana Valley County, Fairbanks
- Measured
- 31
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $1,000
Lightning Strike in Alaska, August 6, 1996
A lightning bolt struck or nearly struck an operator of an amusement ride at the Tanana Valley State Fair. Two 20x20 tents were ripped loose by the wind, lifted 200 ft, then smashed a van's window.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 1
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS AFG wrote it up.
A lightning bolt struck or nearly struck an operator of an amusement ride at the Tanana Valley State Fair. The 36 YOM suffered no external burns; was admitted to the hospital for overnight cardiac monitoring, and was in stable condition that night.Two 20x20 tents were ripped loose by the wind, lifted 200 ft, then smashed a van's window. Nexrad echo tops were only only 20K.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 6, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Minnesota, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, August 6, 1996
- Tornado in South Dakota, August 6, 1996
- Hail in South Dakota, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, August 6, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Minnesota, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, August 6, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 6, 1996
More
Every storm in Alaska in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, August 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5581300.