Lightning, Rockingham
- When
- June 17, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Rockingham County, 2 mi SW of Oregon Hill
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Coordinates
- 36.396, -79.775 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strikes in North Carolina, June 17, 1997
Lightning started a fire which destroyed a 162 year old church 3 miles south of Eden. One fire fighter suffered minor injuries while fighting this fire.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
- $542,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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 RNK wrote it up.
Thunderstorms during the evening hours on the 17th produced damaging lightning.Lightning started a fire which destroyed a 162 year old church 3 miles south of Eden. One fire fighter suffered minor injuries while fighting this fire. A fire started by lightning destroyed the Arts and Crafts Building at the Rockingham Opportunity Center in Wentworth. Another fire started by lightning slightly damaged a barn 2 miles southwest of Oregon Hill.
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 83 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:58 UTC.
Event by event
3 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning, Rockingham
- When
- June 17, 8:20 PM EST
- Where
- Rockingham County, 3 mi S of Eden
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Coordinates
- 36.396, -79.775 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning, Rockingham
- When
- June 17, 8:20 PM EST
- Where
- Rockingham County, Wentworth
- Property damage
- $40,000
- Coordinates
- 36.396, -79.775 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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
- Damaging Winds and Heavy Rain in Texas, June 17, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Mississippi, June 17, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, June 17, 1997
- Tornado in Indiana, June 17, 1997
- Tornado in Kentucky, June 17, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Idaho, June 17, 1997
- Tornado in Kentucky, June 17, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, June 17, 1997
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, June 17, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, June 17, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Mississippi, June 17, 1997
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, June 17, 1997
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, 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: 5606101, 5606102, 5606103.