Lightning, Marion
- When
- August 15, 3:00 PM EST to 3:01 PM EST
- Where
- Marion County, 3 mi SW of Indianapolis
- Coordinates
- 39.782, -86.138 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Indiana, August 15, 1996
Lightning struck near a football practice field at Decatur Central high school. Local football team was on the way inside to take cover when strike occurred.
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 IND wrote it up.
Lightning struck near a football practice field at Decatur Central high school. Local football team was on the way inside to take cover when strike occurred. Proximity of lightning caused injuries to 15 players and 2 coaches. No injuries were life threatning.
The radar
The Indianapolis radar (KIND), 15 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:58 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
- Heat in California, August 15, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, August 15, 1996
- Flash Flood in Nebraska, August 15, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Ohio, August 15, 1996
- Hail in Wyoming, August 15, 1996
- Hail in Nebraska, August 15, 1996
- Drought in Kentucky, August 15 to 31, 1996
- Lightning Strike in West Virginia, August 15, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, August 15, 1996
- Drought in Missouri, August 15 to 31, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, August 15, 1996
- Heavy Rain in Puerto Rico, August 15 to 16, 1996
More
Every storm in Indiana in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, 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: 5568129.