Lightning, Cuyahoga
- When
- August 20, 8:00 PM EST
- Where
- Cuyahoga County, Cleveland
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 41.479, -81.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Ohio, August 20, 1996
A girl, 10 to 13 years old was killed by a wire downed during the storms. The downed wire was not reported till 9:04 PM EDT, when the girl was found.
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 CLE wrote it up.
A girl, 10 to 13 years old was killed by a wire downed during the storms. The downed wire was not reported till 9:04 PM EDT, when the girl was found.
The radar
The Cleveland radar (KCLE), 17 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:55 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, Cuyahoga | 1996-08-20 | 11 | 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 Texas, August 20, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, August 20, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, August 20, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Michigan, August 20, 1996
- Flash Flood in Indiana, August 20, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, August 20, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, August 20, 1996
- Flood in Missouri, August 20 to 21, 1996
- Flash Flood in Kansas, August 20, 1996
- Hail in Puerto Rico, August 20, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Michigan, August 20, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Michigan, August 20, 1996
More
Every storm in Ohio in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, 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: 5567264.