Lightning Strike in Louisiana, July 4, 1998

Name: Lightning Strike in Louisiana, July 4, 1998
Start: 1998-07-04T16:43
End: 1998-07-04T16:43
Location: Louisiana

July 4, 1998 · NWS SHV · 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: 3
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 Shreveport radar (KSHV), 15 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:44 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Caddo

When: July 4, 4:43 PM CST
Where: Caddo County, Shreveport
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 32.580, -93.882 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning struck and injured three individuals standing under a tree while waiting for 4th of July celebration events. A woman, age 33, was struck directly. The lighting struck her head travelling through the red barrette she had clasped around her ponytail, singed her hair near her left ear, hopped over to her left hip, jumped to her right leg, went down her right leg and and left a hole in her right foot as the lightning continued into the ground. Two other persons standing next to her were struck by the side flash and hospitalised.

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

Every storm in Louisiana in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Louisiana, 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: 5657713.