Lightning Strike in Arkansas, August 13, 1997

Name: Lightning Strike in Arkansas, August 13, 1997
Start: 1997-08-13T14:00
End: 1997-08-13T14:00
Location: Arkansas

August 13, 1997 · NWS LZK · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

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The toll

Deaths: 1
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.

The radar

The Little Rock radar (KLZK), 70 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:01 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Jefferson

When: August 13, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County, Pine Bluff
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 34.269, -91.931 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Two men were standing near a bulldozer when lightning struck the bulldozer. The lightning travelled through the ground and struck them. One man sustained minor injuries and was later released from the hospital. The second man suffered a heart attack after being struck. He eventually died from his injuries about 2 weeks later.

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, Jefferson	1997-08-29	46	Male	Heavy Equipment/Construction	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

Every storm in Arkansas in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Arkansas, August 1997

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: 5619161.