Lightning Strike in Alabama, May 29, 1999

Name: Lightning Strike in Alabama, May 29, 1999
Start: 1999-05-29T15:10
End: 1999-05-29T15:10
Location: Alabama

May 29, 1999 · NWS BMX · 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: 2
Injuries: 1
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 Birmingham radar (KBMX), 92 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:08 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Hale

When: May 29, 3:10 PM CST
Where: Hale County, 6 mi NW of Gallion
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 32.763, -87.629 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Two men were killed as they took shelter on shore after getting off the water. The two men had headed out for a fishing trip on the Black Warrior River. The event occurred near the Arcola Landing. The wife of the elder man was knocked unconscious when the lightning struck, however, she had moved away from the two men just before the lightning strike occurred.

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, Hale	1999-05-29	23	Male	Outside/Open Areas	Direct
Lightning, Hale	1999-05-29	55	Male	Outside/Open Areas	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

Every storm in Alabama in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Alabama, May 1999

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: 5695928.