Lightning, Winnebago
- When
- July 13, 10:15 PM CST
- Where
- Winnebago County, Buffalo Center
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Coordinates
- 43.378, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Iowa, July 13, 1997
As thunderstorms moved into the Buffalo Center area, lightning struck a tree in the town. The tree was 10 feet in circumference and was broken apart.
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
- $5,000
- 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 DMX wrote it up.
As thunderstorms moved into the Buffalo Center area, lightning struck a tree in the town. The tree was 10 feet in circumference and was broken apart. It fell into a neaby house. Damage was done to electrical appliances in the house as well.
The radar
The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 164 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:12 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
- Heat in District of Columbia, July 13 to 19, 1997
- Heat in Maryland, July 13 to 19, 1997
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, July 13, 1997
- Hail in South Dakota, July 13, 1997
- Tornado in Kansas, July 13, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Minnesota, July 13, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Louisiana, July 13, 1997
- Flood and Hail in Minnesota, July 13, 1997
- Hail in South Dakota, July 13, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, July 13, 1997
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in North Dakota, July 13, 1997
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Kansas, July 13, 1997
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, July 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: 5603129.