Lightning, Archuleta
- When
- July 24, 1:30 PM MST to 1:45 PM MST
- Where
- Archuleta County, Pagosa Spgs
- Property damage
- $12,000
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 37.194, -107.048 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Colorado, July 24, 1998
A flurry of lightning activity resulted in several small forest and grass fires near Pagosa Springs, as well as extensive damage to a radio station in Pagosa Springs. A house in Pagosa Springs also received minor damage after being struck by lightning.
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
- $12,000
- 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.
A flurry of lightning activity resulted in several small forest and grass fires near Pagosa Springs, as well as extensive damage to a radio station in Pagosa Springs. A house in Pagosa Springs also received minor damage after being struck by lightning. One lightning strike hit a broadcast communications tower and blew the metal grounding balls off of the base. Another nearby lightning strike occurred seconds later, striking a chain link fence which carried the current on a path to the electronics within the radio station. Among the items destroyed were the electronic weather instruments, computers, monitors, the satellite receiver system, and the telephone system.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Heat in California, July 24, 1998
- Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in Utah, July 24, 1998
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 24, 1998
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strikes in Nevada, July 24, 1998
- Damaging Wind in South Carolina, July 24, 1998
- Lightning Strike in South Carolina, July 24, 1998
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, July 24, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, July 24, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Arkansas, July 24, 1998
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Colorado, July 24, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Mississippi, July 24, 1998
- Heavy Rain in South Dakota, July 24 to 25, 1998
More
Every storm in Colorado in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, 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: 5674827.