Lightning, Wake
- When
- January 16, 7:00 PM EST
- Where
- Wake County, Wake Forest
- Property damage
- $35,000
- Coordinates
- 35.790, -78.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in North Carolina, January 16, 1998
Lightning struck a brick house on Seawell Drive in Wake Forest about 20 miles northeast of Raleigh during the early afternoon. The lightning bolt hit the chimney of the new two story house, and the current ran throughout the house's wiring and into one of the bedrooms.
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
- $35,000
- 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 RAH wrote it up.
Lightning struck a brick house on Seawell Drive in Wake Forest about 20 miles northeast of Raleigh during the early afternoon. The lightning bolt hit the chimney of the new two story house, and the current ran throughout the house's wiring and into one of the bedrooms. Most of the damage was to the roof and in the bedroom. Flying debris and brick knocked holes in the walls, and bricks from the chimney were found 105 feet away in a neighbors yard.
The radar
The Raleigh/Durham radar (KRAX), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:03 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
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, January 16, 1998
- Winter Weather in Kentucky, January 16, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Wyoming, January 16 to 17, 1998
- Hail in South Carolina, January 16, 1998
- Flash Flooding in North Carolina, January 16, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, January 16 to 17, 1998
- Flood in Virginia, January 16 to 18, 1998
- Flood in Florida, January 16 to 31, 1998
- Hail in North Carolina, January 16, 1998
- Hail in North Carolina, January 16, 1998
- Hail in North Carolina, January 16, 1998
- High Wind in Oregon, January 16 to 17, 1998
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, January 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: 5629585.