Lightning, St. Louis
- When
- July 21, 10:30 PM CST
- Where
- St. Louis County, Duluth
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 47.590, -92.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Minnesota, July 21, 1996
A lightning bolt entered a woman's bedroom, traveled through the mattress and spring she was sleeping on, then leaped into an electrical outlet. The 19 year old woman was not seriously injured, but she was left temporarily deaf in one ear and with a slightly irregular heartbeat.
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
- 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 lightning bolt entered a woman's bedroom, traveled through the mattress and spring she was sleeping on, then leaped into an electrical outlet. The 19 year old woman was not seriously injured, but she was left temporarily deaf in one ear and with a slightly irregular heartbeat. The lightning bolt also started a fire in the bed and ignited insulation in the attic of the home. The fires were quickly extinguished.
The radar
The Duluth radar (KDLH), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:28 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
- Flash Flood in Missouri, July 21, 1996
- Hail in North Dakota, July 21, 1996
- Hail in Minnesota, July 21, 1996
- Hail in South Dakota, July 21, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, July 21, 1996
- Flash Flood in Tennessee, July 21 to 22, 1996
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, July 21, 1996
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, July 21, 1996
- Tornado in Kansas, July 21, 1996
- Hail in Minnesota, July 21, 1996
- Hail in Kansas, July 21, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Kansas, July 21, 1996
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, July 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5583547.