Lightning, Berks
- When
- May 25, 6:50 AM EST
- Where
- Berks County, Breezy Corner
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Pennsylvania, May 25, 1998
A 37-year-old male was struck and killed by lightning at the Golden Oakes Golf Course in Ruscombmanor Township in Berks County. The gentleman was leaving for shelter on the fourth hole of the golf course when lightning struck him in the face.
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
- 0
- 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 PHI wrote it up.
A 37-year-old male was struck and killed by lightning at the Golden Oakes Golf Course in Ruscombmanor Township in Berks County. The gentleman was leaving for shelter on the fourth hole of the golf course when lightning struck him in the face.
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, Berks | 1998-05-25 | 37 | Male | Golfing | 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
- Tornado and Hail in Texas, May 25, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, May 25, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, May 25, 1998
- Hail in Texas, May 25, 1998
- Lightning Strikes in Pennsylvania, May 25, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 25, 1998
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, May 25 to 26, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 25, 1998
- Hail in Texas, May 25, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Texas, May 25, 1998
- Lightning Strikes in New Jersey, May 25, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 25, 1998
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, May 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: 5660097.