Lightning, Tulare
- When
- November 22, 10:50 AM PST
- Where
- Tulare County, 9 mi SE of Tulare
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Coordinates
- 36.220, -118.800 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in California, November 22, 1996
A Tulare County thunderstorm produced a lightning strike on a barn that stampeded cattle. Fleeing from the thunder the cattle crossed into a roadway and subsequently were struck by a truck tractor with 17 of the cattle killed.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $15,000
- 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 HNX wrote it up.
A Tulare County thunderstorm produced a lightning strike on a barn that stampeded cattle. Fleeing from the thunder the cattle crossed into a roadway and subsequently were struck by a truck tractor with 17 of the cattle killed.
The radar
The San Joaquin Valley radar (KHNX), 75 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:47 UTC.
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
- Flash Flood in California, November 22, 1996
- Tornado in California, November 22, 1996
- Tornado in California, November 22, 1996
- Flash Flood in Arizona, November 22, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, November 22 to 24, 1996
- Tornado in Arizona, November 22, 1996
- High Wind in Colorado, November 22, 1996
- High Wind in California, November 22, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Utah, November 22, 1996
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, November 22 to 23, 1996
- Winter Storm in Colorado, November 22 to 23, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Utah, November 22, 1996
More
Every storm in California in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in California, November 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: 5578419.