Lightning, Des Moines
- When
- May 24, 1:00 PM CST
- Where
- Des Moines County, Burlington
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Coordinates
- 40.923, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Iowa, May 24, 1996
House fire caused by lightning, numerous witnesses saw the house struck. This was part of a widespread lightning event which damaged several structures, destroyed numerous trees, and started 4 other fires.
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
- $30,000
- 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 DVN wrote it up.
House fire caused by lightning, numerous witnesses saw the house struck. This was part of a widespread lightning event which damaged several structures, destroyed numerous trees, and started 4 other fires.
The radar
The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 92 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:01 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 Kentucky, May 24, 1996
- Hail in North Carolina, May 24, 1996
- Hail in North Carolina, May 24, 1996
- Hail in North Carolina, May 24, 1996
- Hail in North Carolina, May 24, 1996
- High Wind in Iowa, May 24, 1996
- Hail in Iowa, May 24, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, May 24, 1996
- Flash Flood in Iowa, May 24, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Iowa, May 24, 1996
- Flash Flood in Iowa, May 24, 1996
- Flash Flood in Iowa, May 24, 1996
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, May 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: 5557837.