Thunderstorm Wind, Summit
- When
- August 20, 5:00 PM MST to 8:00 PM MST
- Where
- Summit County, 20 mi E of Kamas
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 40.650, -110.880
Damaging Winds in Utah, August 20, 1997
Strong thunderstorm winds toppled a dead pine tree at Camp Frontier about 20 miles north of Mirror Lake. The tree struck a 12 year old girl in the head, killing her instantly.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
- 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 SLC wrote it up.
Strong thunderstorm winds toppled a dead pine tree at Camp Frontier about 20 miles north of Mirror Lake. The tree struck a 12 year old girl in the head, killing her instantly. Later, a microburst wind gust to 68 mph (59 kts) occurred at the National Weather Service Office in Salt Lake City.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Salt Lake
- When
- August 20, 6:06 PM MST to 6:10 PM MST
- Where
- Salt Lake County, (Slc)salt Lake City
- Measured
- 59 kt (68 mph)
- Coordinates
- 40.720, -111.920
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind, Summit | 1997-08-20 | 12 | Female | Camping | Direct |
What these are
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Rain in Connecticut, August 20 to 21, 1997
- Flash Flood in New Jersey, August 20 to 21, 1997
- Flash Flood in New Jersey, August 20 to 21, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, August 20, 1997
- Flash Flood in New Jersey, August 20 to 21, 1997
- Flash Flood in New Jersey, August 20 to 21, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Texas, August 20, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, August 20, 1997
- Tornado in Florida, August 20, 1997
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, August 20, 1997
- Flood in Michigan, August 20 to 22, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, August 20, 1997
More
Every storm in Utah in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, 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: 5623789, 5623790.