Lightning, Van Zandt
- When
- August 8, 1:30 PM CST to 1:35 PM CST
- Where
- Van Zandt County, Ben Wheeler
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 32.564, -95.836 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Texas, August 8, 1996
Lightning struck a tree and killed a man taking shelter under it.
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 FWD wrote it up.
Lightning struck a tree and killed a man taking shelter under it.
The radar
The Dallas/Ft Worth radar (KFWS), 137 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:28 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, Van Zandt | 1996-08-08 | 68 | Male | Under Tree | 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 New Mexico, August 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in Colorado, August 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in New York, August 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, August 8, 1996
- Lightning Strike in New York, August 8, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 8, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, August 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in New York, August 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in New York, August 8, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Ohio, August 8, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, August 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in New York, August 8, 1996
More
Every storm in Texas in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, 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: 5568504.