California, 1998

Lightning Strike in California, July 20, 1998

July 20, 1998 · NWS LOX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
1
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.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Los Angeles

When
July 20, 7:00 AM PST
Where
Los Angeles County, West Covina
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
34.198, -118.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning struck a 40 year-old woman at her home in West Covina. The lightning struck a antenna on the roof of her home, travelled down a wire attached to a plumbing vent, and then to the kitchen sink where she was standing. The woman sustained minor injuries.

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

More

Every storm in California in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in California, July 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: 5653977.