Lightning, Rockingham
- When
- July 14, 2:15 PM EST
- Where
- Rockingham County, Harrisonburg
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 38.512, -78.876 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Virginia, July 14, 1996
A soccer player was struck by lightning at the Rockingham Co fairgrounds. The match had been called due to the storm, but the athlete had not sought shelter before the lightning struck.
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 LWX wrote it up.
A soccer player was struck by lightning at the Rockingham Co fairgrounds. The match had been called due to the storm, but the athlete had not sought shelter before the lightning struck. He perished approximately 12 hours later.
The radar
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 131 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:04 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, Rockingham | 1996-07-15 | 20 | Male | Ball Field | 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
- Flash Flood in New Mexico, July 14, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Vermont, July 14, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Pennsylvania, July 14, 1996
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 14, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Vermont, July 14, 1996
- Lightning Strike in South Carolina, July 14, 1996
- Flash Flood in Colorado, July 14 to 15, 1996
- Hail in New York, July 14, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, July 14, 1996
- Tornado in Arizona, July 14, 1996
- Lightning Strike in New Hampshire, July 14, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, July 14, 1996
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5568021.