Lightning, Ouray
- When
- June 13, 2:00 PM MST
- Where
- Ouray County, 5 mi NNE of Telluride
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 38.156, -107.769 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Colorado, June 13, 1996
A man was struck and killed by lightning while hiking near the summit of Mt. Sneffles.
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
- 1
- 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 GJT wrote it up.
A man was struck and killed by lightning while hiking near the summit of Mt. Sneffles. Shortly before the lightning strike he was warned of the potential lightning danger from other hikers who were coming down from the summit.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Ouray | 1996-06-13 | 41 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
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 Mississippi, June 13, 1996
- Flash Flood in Massachusetts, June 13, 1996
- Hail in Nebraska, June 13, 1996
- Flash Flood in Vermont, June 13, 1996
- Flash Flood in New York, June 13, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, June 13, 1996
- Hail in South Dakota, June 13, 1996
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, June 13, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, June 13, 1996
- Flash Flood in Ohio, June 13, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Georgia, June 13, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, June 13, 1996
More
Every storm in Colorado in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, June 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: 5561505.