Lightning, Henrico
- When
- March 19, 7:04 PM EST to 7:45 PM EST
- Where
- Henrico County, Richmond Airport
- Coordinates
- 37.458, -77.296 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Virginia, March 19, 1996
LIGHTNING STRIKE CAUSED THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTER AT RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO LOSE POWER FOR 41 MINUTES. THIS POWER OUTAGE CAUSED PILOTS TO LAND PLANES ON THEIR OWN.
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
- 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 AKQ wrote it up.
LIGHTNING STRIKE CAUSED THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTER AT RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO LOSE POWER FOR 41 MINUTES. THIS POWER OUTAGE CAUSED PILOTS TO LAND PLANES ON THEIR OWN.
The radar
The Norfolk radar (KAKQ), 59 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:05 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
- Winter Storm in Ohio, March 19 to 21, 1996
- Winter Storm in Illinois, March 19 to 20, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Ohio, March 19 to 21, 1996
- High Wind in Maryland, March 19, 1996
- High Wind in New York, March 19 to 20, 1996
- High Wind in Pennsylvania, March 19 to 20, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Indiana, March 19 to 20, 1996
- High Wind in New York, March 19 to 20, 1996
- High Wind in Vermont, March 19 to 20, 1996
- High Wind in New Jersey, March 19, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, March 19 to 20, 1996
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, March 19, 1996
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, March 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: 5582616.