Lightning Strike in Georgia, May 19, 1997

Name: Lightning Strike in Georgia, May 19, 1997
Start: 1997-05-19T19:30
End: 1997-05-19T19:30
Location: Georgia

May 19, 1997 · NWS FFC · 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $60,000
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.

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 98 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:27 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Cherokee

When: May 19, 7:30 PM EST
Where: Cherokee County, Hickory Flat
Property damage: $60,000
Coordinates: 34.244, -84.476 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The owner of the house reported seeing smoke and then fire in an electrical outlet shortly after an electrical storm passed through the area. The fire spread through the living room and garage. Extensive damage was caused by a delayed explosion which firefighters believed was the result of mixing magnesium (common in motors of lawn mowers) and water.

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 Georgia in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Georgia, 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: 5591799.