Louisiana, 1999

Lightning Strike in Louisiana, July 7, 1999

July 7, 1999 · 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
0
Property damage
$2,000
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.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Lincoln

When
July 7, 6:30 PM CST
Where
Lincoln County, Ruston
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
32.602, -92.665 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Downtown Ruston was struck by lightning which caused a circuit to open at the generating plant which feeds the diesel plant substation. That in turn led to a circuit overload on the alternate feeder that blacked out the diesel plant substation that in turn blacked out downtown for about an hour. At the same time two feeders out of the Maple Street substation was opened and that collapsed the power grid across the west side of town.

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

More

Every storm in Louisiana in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Louisiana, July 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: 5707412.