Lightning, Washington
- When
- August 3, 2:00 AM EST to 2:30 AM EST
- Where
- Washington County, Waitsfield
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 44.273, -72.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Hail and Lightning Strike in Vermont, August 3, 1997
During the early morning hours of August 3, 1997 a cold front moved south from Canada into northern Vermont. Thunderstorms wirh very heavy rain, large hail and deadly lightning moved across the area.
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
- $50,000
- 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 BTV wrote it up.
During the early morning hours of August 3, 1997 a cold front moved south from Canada into northern Vermont. Thunderstorms wirh very heavy rain, large hail and deadly lightning moved across the area. A store in Waitsfield, VT was struck by lightning and set on fire with considerable damage.
The radar
The Burlington radar (KCXX), 51 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:16 UTC.
Event by event
1 lightning, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Washington
- When
- August 3, 2:15 AM EST to 2:20 AM EST
- Where
- Washington County, Warren
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Coordinates
- 44.120, -72.850
What these are
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Arizona, August 3 to 31, 1997
- Lightning Strike in New Mexico, August 3, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, August 3, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, August 3, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Illinois, August 3, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Minnesota, August 3, 1997
- Hail in Wisconsin, August 3, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Minnesota, August 3, 1997
- Hail in Iowa, August 3, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Illinois, August 3, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Maine, August 3, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, August 3, 1997
More
Every storm in Vermont in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Vermont, 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: 5622523, 5622522.