Lightning, Cook
- When
- August 6, 7:55 PM CST
- Where
- Cook County, 30 mi NW of Grand Marais
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 47.817, -90.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Minnesota, August 6, 1996
A 12-year-old girl died near Gunflint Lake after being struck by lightning. She and her family were walking back to their cabin and were about 20 yards from the building when the 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
- 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 DLH wrote it up.
A 12-year-old girl died near Gunflint Lake after being struck by lightning. She and her family were walking back to their cabin and were about 20 yards from the building when the strike occurred. The girl's mother was knocked unconscious and did not have a pulse. She was revived by cardiopulmonary resuscitation and was later listed in stable condition.
The radar
The Duluth radar (KDLH), 166 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:04 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, Cook | 1996-08-06 | 12 | Female | 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
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, August 6, 1996
- Tornado in South Dakota, August 6, 1996
- Hail in South Dakota, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, August 6, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Minnesota, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, August 6, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Wisconsin, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, August 6, 1996
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, 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: 5583553.