Lightning, Union
- When
- August 24, 6:00 PM EST to 6:15 PM EST
- Where
- Union County, Monroe
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 34.988, -80.531 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in North Carolina, August 24, 1996
Severe thunderstorms swept from the foothills through much of the piedmont causing widespread reports of large hail and damaging wind. Trees were blown down in all locations where wind damage was listed above and in Iredell county a tree crushed a mobile home.
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 GSP wrote it up.
Severe thunderstorms swept from the foothills through much of the piedmont causing widespread reports of large hail and damaging wind. Trees were blown down in all locations where wind damage was listed above and in Iredell county a tree crushed a mobile home. Power was out in much of the area. In Charlotte excessive rainfall caused flash flooding. The worst flooding was reported along Independence Avenue where at least one car dealership flooded. Thirty one cars were damaged or destroyed. Lightning caused power outages to 1000 homes around Concord and partially burned a home near Shelby. At Monroe lightning struck two trees, ran through a carport, cracked the wall of a house and injured one woman.
The radar
The Columbia radar (KCAE), 128 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:01 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
- Wildfire in Oregon, August 24 to 31, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Rhode Island, August 24, 1996
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, August 24, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Virginia, August 24, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, August 24, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Virginia, August 24, 1996
- Lightning Strike in New York, August 24, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, August 24, 1996
- Flash Flood in Texas, August 24, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, August 24, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, August 24, 1996
- Flash Flood in New Mexico, August 24, 1996
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, 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: 5566010.