Lightning, Madison
- When
- September 5, 5:10 PM EST
- Where
- Madison County, Berea
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 37.720, -84.278 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Kentucky, September 5, 1996
Lightning struck and killed an 18-year old female college student while she was playing soccer at Berea College.
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 LMK wrote it up.
Lightning struck and killed an 18-year old female college student while she was playing soccer at Berea College.
The radar
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:09 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, Madison | 1996-09-05 | 18 | Female | Ball Field | 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
- Hurricane in North Carolina, September 5 to 6, 1996
- Hurricane in North Carolina, September 5 to 6, 1996
- High Wind in North Carolina, September 5 to 6, 1996
- Hurricane in South Carolina, September 5, 1996
- High Wind in South Carolina, September 5, 1996
- Hurricane in North Carolina, September 5 to 6, 1996
- High Wind in North Carolina, September 5 to 6, 1996
- High Wind in North Carolina, September 5 to 6, 1996
- High Wind in South Carolina, September 5, 1996
- Hurricane in North Carolina, September 5 to 6, 1996
- High Wind in Virginia, September 5 to 6, 1996
- High Wind in North Carolina, September 5 to 6, 1996
More
Every storm in Kentucky in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, September 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: 5566231.