Lightning, Rio Blanco
- When
- August 14, 1:22 PM MST
- Where
- Rio Blanco County, 35 mi SW of Meeker
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 39.980, -108.217 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Colorado, August 14, 1998
Two pipeline workers took cover under a tree during a thunderstorm. Lightning struck the tree, killing one man and seriously injuring the other.
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
- 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.
What happened
The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.
Two pipeline workers took cover under a tree during a thunderstorm. Lightning struck the tree, killing one man and seriously injuring the other.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
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, Rio Blanco | 1998-08-14 | 27 | Male | Under Tree | 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 in Texas, August 14, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 14, 1998
- Flash Flood in South Carolina, August 14 to 15, 1998
- Hail in Nebraska, August 14, 1998
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Nevada, August 14, 1998
- Flooding and Hail in Iowa, August 14, 1998
- Flash Flood in Texas, August 14, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, August 14, 1998
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Nevada, August 14, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 14, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Florida, August 14, 1998
- Hail in New York, August 14, 1998
More
Every storm in Colorado in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, August 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: 5664373.