Lightning, Pottawattamie
- When
- May 3, 3:30 PM CST
- Where
- Pottawattamie County, Lake Manawa
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 41.337, -95.542 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Iowa, May 3, 1996
Lightning killed one man and injured another as they were standing on a Lake Manawa boat dock. The two men had been loading their boat onto a trailer when the lightning hit them and they both fell backwards into the water.
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
- 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 OAX wrote it up.
Lightning killed one man and injured another as they were standing on a Lake Manawa boat dock. The two men had been loading their boat onto a trailer when the lightning hit them and they both fell backwards into the water.
The radar
The Omaha radar (KOAX), 69 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:31 UTC.
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, Pottawattamie | 1996-05-03 | 26 | 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
- Hail in Kentucky, May 3, 1996
- Hail in Indiana, May 3, 1996
- Hail in Illinois, May 3, 1996
- Hail in Illinois, May 3, 1996
- Hail in Illinois, May 3, 1996
- Tornado in Indiana, May 3, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Illinois, May 3, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Indiana, May 3, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Kentucky, May 3, 1996
- Heat in Alaska, May 3, 1996
- High Wind in Alaska, May 3 to 6, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Montana, May 3, 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: 5554496.