Lightning, Mercer
- When
- June 5, 7:19 PM CST
- Where
- Mercer County, 5 mi NE of Aledo
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 41.205, -90.741 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Illinois, June 5, 1997
One bolt of lighting touched down well in advance of an ordinary thunderstorm. The bolt struck and killed an eight year old boy who was playing quietly alone in his backyard.
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
- 1
- 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 DVN wrote it up.
One bolt of lighting touched down well in advance of an ordinary thunderstorm. The bolt struck and killed an eight year old boy who was playing quietly alone in his backyard. The boy was found near a tree and just feet from his home and while medical assistance arrived very quickly, they were unable to revive him. No rain occurred in the immediate area and an eyewitness reported that this was the only bolt of lightning, so there was no cause for alarm prior to the strike.
The radar
The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 47 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:17 UTC.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
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, Mercer | 1997-06-05 | 8 | Male | Under Tree | 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
- Tornado in Iowa, June 5, 1997
- Hail in Iowa, June 5, 1997
- Hail in Iowa, June 5, 1997
- Hail in Iowa, June 5, 1997
- Tornado and Hail in Minnesota, June 5, 1997
- Rip Current in Florida, June 5, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, June 5, 1997
- Hail in Texas, June 5, 1997
- Hail in Minnesota, June 5, 1997
- Hail in Iowa, June 5, 1997
- Hail in Iowa, June 5, 1997
- Hail in Wisconsin, June 5, 1997
More
Every storm in Illinois in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, 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: 5605478.