Lightning, Mecosta
- When
- April 12, 1:30 AM EST
- Where
- Mecosta County, Big Rapids
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 43.641, -85.325 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Michigan, April 12, 1996
Lightning struck the radio antenna atop the Mecosta County Sheriff's Department, knocking out the telephone system in the county complex and damaging computers. The telephone system at Mecosta County General Hospital was also damaged by lightning.
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
- $50,000
- 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 GRR wrote it up.
Lightning struck the radio antenna atop the Mecosta County Sheriff's Department, knocking out the telephone system in the county complex and damaging computers. The telephone system at Mecosta County General Hospital was also damaged by lightning.
The radar
The Grand Rapids radar (KGRR), 85 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:28 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 Ohio, April 12, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, April 12, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, April 12, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, April 12, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, April 12, 1996
- Hail in Michigan, April 12, 1996
- Hail in Michigan, April 12, 1996
- Hail in Michigan, April 12, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Michigan, April 12, 1996
- Hail in Michigan, April 12, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Michigan, April 12, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, April 12, 1996
More
Every storm in Michigan in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Michigan, April 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: 5544833.