Lightning, Delaware
- When
- August 13, 6:45 PM EST
- Where
- Delaware County, Chester
- Property damage
- $1,000
- Coordinates
- 39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strikes in Pennsylvania, August 13, 1997
A thunderstorm with frequent lightning struck a home and the steeple of the Word of Life Ministries Church in Chester. No major damage occurred to the house, but the lightning tore the siding from the church's steeple and caused a surge of electricity that spat flames out of the electrical sockets and switches.
Where it happened
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.
- 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
- $26,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 struck a home and the steeple of the Word of Life Ministries Church in Chester. No major damage occurred to the house, but the lightning tore the siding from the church's steeple and caused a surge of electricity that spat flames out of the electrical sockets and switches. The ensuing heavy rain then caused a 9 foot by 9 foot section of the weakened roof to come crashing down in the church's vestibule. No injuries were reported.
The radar
The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 84 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:46 UTC.
Event by event
2 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning, Delaware
- When
- August 13, 7:00 PM EST
- Where
- Delaware County, Chester
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 39.917, -75.399 (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
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Nebraska, August 13, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Arkansas, August 13, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, August 13, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Utah, August 13, 1997
- Lightning Strike in New York, August 13, 1997
- Flood in Florida, August 13, 1997
- Tornado in New Jersey, August 13, 1997
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, August 13, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, August 13 to 14, 1997
- Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, August 13, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, August 13, 1997
- Damaging Winds in New York, August 13, 1997
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, August 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: 5621508, 5621509.