Lightning, Los Angeles
- When
- May 12, 6:45 PM PST
- Where
- Los Angeles County, Lake Hughes
- Coordinates
- 34.198, -118.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in California, May 12, 1997
Lightning struck an electrical pole in the Lake Hughes area. Nearly 1000 people lost power for about two hours.
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 LOX wrote it up.
Lightning struck an electrical pole in the Lake Hughes area. Nearly 1000 people lost power for about two hours.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
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
- Tornado in Florida, May 12, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Dust Storm in Oregon, May 12 to 31, 1997
- Hail in Texas, May 12, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Texas, May 12, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Texas, May 12, 1997
- Hail in Texas, May 12, 1997
- Tornado in Iowa, May 12, 1997
- Tornado in Iowa, May 12, 1997
- Tornado in Iowa, May 12, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Texas, May 12, 1997
More
Every storm in California in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in California, May 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: 5600704.