Lightning, Larimer
- When
- August 16, 1:00 PM MST to 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Larimer County, Rustic
- Coordinates
- 40.666, -105.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Colorado, August 16, 1996
Lightning sparked four additional wildfires in Larimer County during the afternoon and evening hours. The fires were very small and quickly contained.
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
- None recorded
- 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 BOU wrote it up.
Lightning sparked four additional wildfires in Larimer County during the afternoon and evening hours. The fires were very small and quickly contained. The largest of the fires burned 2 acres of timber near Rustic. Other smaller fires were reported near Glacier View Meadows, Pinewood Reservoir and near the top of Buckhorn Canyon.
The radar
The Cheyenne radar (KCYS), 77 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:00 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
- Damaging Wind in Arizona, August 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Maryland, August 16, 1996
- Lightning Strike in New York, August 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, August 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, August 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 16, 1996
- Flood in Missouri, August 16 to 17, 1996
- Flash Flood in Texas, August 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, August 16, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Ohio, August 16, 1996
- Flash Flood in Texas, August 16, 1996
- Flash Flood in Texas, August 16, 1996
More
Every storm in Colorado in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, 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: 5567799.