Lightning, San Miguel
- When
- September 20, 9:00 PM MST
- Where
- San Miguel County, 14 mi WSW of Norwood
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Coordinates
- 38.004, -108.406 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Colorado, September 20, 1997
Lightning struck and killed a Palomino quarter horse. The lightning also ignited a fire on a nearby ten ton haystack.
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
- $2,000
- 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 GJT wrote it up.
Lightning struck and killed a Palomino quarter horse. The lightning also ignited a fire on a nearby ten ton haystack.
The radar
The Grand Junction radar (KGJX), 119 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:00 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
- Hail in Colorado, September 20, 1997
- Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in New Mexico, September 20 to 21, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Colorado, September 20, 1997
- Hail in Colorado, September 20, 1997
- Flash Flood in Ohio, September 20, 1997
- Flash Flood in Ohio, September 20, 1997
- Flash Flood in Ohio, September 20, 1997
- Damaging Wind in New Mexico, September 20, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Connecticut, September 20, 1997
- Dense Fog in Wyoming, September 20, 1997
- High Wind in Alaska, September 20 to 23, 1997
- Hail in New Mexico, September 20, 1997
More
Every storm in Colorado in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, September 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: 5617300.