Lightning, Talbot
- When
- June 26, 4:30 PM EST
- Where
- Talbot County, Easton
- Injuries
- 5 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $1.0 million
- Coordinates
- 38.749, -76.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Maryland, June 26, 1997
A thunderstorm with frequent lightning started a fire that destroyed eight condominiums and damaged eight others in Easton. Five persons were injured, including two firefighters, and as many as 30 persons were left homeless.
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
- 5
- Property damage
- $1.0 million
- 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 PHI wrote it up.
A thunderstorm with frequent lightning started a fire that destroyed eight condominiums and damaged eight others in Easton. Five persons were injured, including two firefighters, and as many as 30 persons were left homeless. Damage was estimated at one million dollars. The lightning struck the roof of the wood-frame complex about 530 p.m. EDT and quickly spread. A fire wall and the efforts of the 50 firefighters on the scene prevented the fire from spreading to the adjoining eight units. The fire was brought under control at about 730 p.m. EDT.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
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
- Dense Fog in Colorado, June 26, 1997
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Maryland, June 26, 1997
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Virginia, June 26, 1997
- Tornado and Hail in New York, June 26, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Florida, June 26, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Maryland, June 26, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Virginia, June 26, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Florida, June 26, 1997
- Hail in Florida, June 26, 1997
- Flash Flooding in West Virginia, June 26, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Maryland, June 26, 1997
- Damaging Wind in West Virginia, June 26, 1997
More
Every storm in Maryland in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Maryland, 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: 5611951.