Dense Fog, Greater Phoenix Area
- When
- December 7, 8:00 AM MST
- Where
- Greater Phoenix Area forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
Dense fog with visibility near zero was blamed on a 30-vehicle accident on I-10 near Sun Lakes.
Lightning Strike and Dense Fog in Arizona, December 7 to 15, 1998
1 dense fog, 1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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
- 3
- 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.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 dense fog, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning, Maricopa
- When
- December 15, 7:00 AM MST
- Where
- Maricopa County, Paradise Vly
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 3 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 33.349, -112.491 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning struck the plywood roof of a home under construction. A worker was killed when the lightning bolt traveled down a wooden rafter and hit him in the head. Three other workers received minor injuries from this lightning.
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, Maricopa | 1998-12-15 | 20 | Male | Permanent Home | Direct |
What these are
- Dense Fog
- Fog reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, filed where it caused accidents or disruption.
- 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 in Louisiana, December 7, 1998
- Heat in Maine, December 7, 1998
- Heat in New Hampshire, December 7, 1998
- Heat in Massachusetts, December 7, 1998
- Flooding in Kansas, December 7 to 9, 1998
- High Wind in Wyoming, December 7, 1998
- Blizzard in Montana, December 7 to 8, 1998
- Heat in Vermont, December 7, 1998
- Heat in Vermont, December 7, 1998
- Heat in Vermont, December 7, 1998
- Heat in New York, December 7, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, December 7, 1998
More
Every storm in Arizona in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Arizona, December 1998
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: 5675542, 5675543.