Lightning Strike in Arkansas, June 28, 1997

Name: Lightning Strike in Arkansas, June 28, 1997
Start: 1997-06-28T13:00
End: 1997-06-28T13:00
Location: Arkansas

June 28, 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: 12
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), 81 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Cleburne

When: June 28, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Cleburne County, 2 mi N of Heber Spgs
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 12 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 35.538, -92.027 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A group of people were attending a picnic on the shore of Greers Ferry Lake at the Old Highway 25 Park. Lightning struck nearby and injured 12 people. One other person was killed as a result of being struck. The extent of injuries to the others struck consisted of burns. Most of the injured were treated and released from the hospital the same day and several others were kept for observation.

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, Cleburne	1997-06-28	18	Male	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

Every storm in Arkansas in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Arkansas, June 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: 5606594.