Lightning, Mahaska
- When
- August 27, 5:15 PM CST
- Where
- Mahaska County, Oskaloosa
- Property damage
- $200,000
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 41.335, -92.641 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Iowa, August 27, 1998
Thunderstorms moved across Iowa through much of the day. As one of the storms moved through Mahaska County, lightning struck a church in Oskaloosa.
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
- $200,000
- 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 DMX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms moved across Iowa through much of the day. As one of the storms moved through Mahaska County, lightning struck a church in Oskaloosa. The church was set on fire and much of the building was destroyed.
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 100 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:12 UTC.
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
- Hurricane in North Carolina, August 27 to 28, 1998
- Heat in California, August 27, 1998
- Flash Flood and Hail in Kansas, August 27, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Colorado, August 27, 1998
- Hail in North Dakota, August 27, 1998
- Waterspout in Florida, August 27, 1998
- Flood in Missouri, August 27, 1998
- Lightning Strike in North Dakota, August 27, 1998
- Funnel Cloud in Florida, August 27, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, August 27, 1998
- Flood in Florida, August 27, 1998
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, 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: 5657424.