Lightning, Lavaca
- When
- July 31, 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Lavaca County, 7 mi W of Halletsville
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 29.384, -96.930 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Texas, July 31, 1997
A woman was working with her husband and three daughters in a field on her farm near Wied, just west of Hallettsville, as thunderstorms moved into the area. All five headed indoors quickly, but the mother was struck by lightning and killed.
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
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- 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 EWX wrote it up.
A woman was working with her husband and three daughters in a field on her farm near Wied, just west of Hallettsville, as thunderstorms moved into the area. All five headed indoors quickly, but the mother was struck by lightning and killed. None of the others were injured.
The radar
The Austin/San Antonio radar (KEWX), 112 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:02 UTC.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Lavaca | 1997-07-31 | 38 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
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 Wind and Lightning Strike in Tennessee, July 31, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Nebraska, July 31, 1997
- Waterspout in Florida, July 31, 1997
- High Surf in Hawaii, July 31, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, July 31, 1997
- Wildfire and Damaging Wind in Idaho, July 31, 1997
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in New Mexico, July 31, 1997
- Cold in Georgia, July 31, 1997
- Heavy Rain in Puerto Rico, July 31, 1997
- Flood in Puerto Rico, July 31, 1997
- Hail in Florida, July 31, 1997
- Flash Flood in Colorado, July 31, 1997
More
Every storm in Texas in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, 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: 5611496.