2 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 Chicago radar (KLOT), 47 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:00 UTC.
2 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A 43 year old man suffered minor injuries when he was struck by lightning while changing a tire in a school parking lot.
A 13 year old boy was critically injured when he was struck by lightning while playing soccer at Gage Park on 55th Street on the southwest side of Chicago. It was not raining and there were no signs of lightning before he was struck.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, September 1997
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: 5617898, 5617897.