Lightning, Fresno
- When
- May 19, 2:30 PM PST to 7:00 PM PST
- Where
- Fresno County, 15 mi NNE of Fresno
- Measured
- 30
- Property damage
- $1.5 million
- Crop damage
- $300,000
- Coordinates
- 36.758, -119.649 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in California, May 19, 1997
Lightning spawned and wind driven fire destroyed 600 acres of grassland and 3 upscale homes north-northeast of Fresno. Wind from the thunderstorm provided the driving force pushing the fire through fire-breaks and into expensive homes and through dry pastures.
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
- $1.5 million
- Crop damage
- $300,000
- 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 HNX wrote it up.
Lightning spawned and wind driven fire destroyed 600 acres of grassland and 3 upscale homes north-northeast of Fresno. Wind from the thunderstorm provided the driving force pushing the fire through fire-breaks and into expensive homes and through dry pastures.
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
- Damaging Wind in California, May 19, 1997
- Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, May 19, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flood in California, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flood and Flood in Mississippi, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flood in Utah, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 19, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 19 to 31, 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: 5608766.