Lightning, Sangamon
- When
- February 26, 6:30 PM CST
- Where
- Sangamon County, Springfield
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 39.758, -89.659 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Illinois, February 26, 1996
A 7 year-old boy was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm that moved through Springfield. The boy was watching television when the lightning struck the house and travelled through the televsion set.
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
- 1
- 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 ILX wrote it up.
A 7 year-old boy was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm that moved through Springfield. The boy was watching television when the lightning struck the house and travelled through the televsion set. It exited the TV and either struck the boy or the chair he was sitting in. It picked him up and threw him from the chair. He only received minor burns on his fingertips and the backs of his legs, believed to be the entry and exit points for the electrical bolt. He was released from the hospital later that night with no other problems except for the burns.
The radar
The Lincoln radar (KILX), 52 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:32 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
- Lightning Strike in Kansas, February 26 to 27, 1996
- Blizzard in North Dakota, February 26 to 28, 1996
- High Wind in Texas, February 26, 1996
- Ice Storm in Wisconsin, February 26 to 27, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, February 26 to 28, 1996
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, February 26 to 27, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, February 26 to 27, 1996
- Ice Storm in Wisconsin, February 26 to 27, 1996
- Winter Storm in Colorado, February 26, 1996
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, February 26 to 27, 1996
- High Wind in New Mexico, February 26, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, February 26 to 28, 1996
More
Every storm in Illinois in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, February 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: 5539571.