Lightning, Essex
- When
- September 13, 12:15 PM EST
- Where
- Essex County, Gloucester
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Coordinates
- 42.639, -70.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Massachusetts, September 13, 1997
A bolt of lightning struck some trees near a house and ignited the home's electrical system. The flames resulted in extensive damage, which was estimated at $100,000.
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
- $100,000
- 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 BOX wrote it up.
A bolt of lightning struck some trees near a house and ignited the home's electrical system. The flames resulted in extensive damage, which was estimated at $100,000. A number of other homes in the area sustained electrical damage during the thunderstorm.
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
- Flash Flood in New Mexico, September 13, 1997
- Wildfire in California, September 13 to 15, 1997
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Arizona, September 13, 1997
- High Surf in Hawaii, September 13 to 14, 1997
- Lightning Strikes in Maine, September 13, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, September 13, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, September 13, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, September 13, 1997
- Waterspout in Florida, September 13, 1997
- Flash Flood in Kansas, September 13, 1997
- Waterspout in Florida, September 13, 1997
- Flash Flood in Missouri, September 13, 1997
More
Every storm in Massachusetts in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Massachusetts, September 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: 5622414.