Lightning, Watauga
- When
- May 18, 7:35 PM EST
- Where
- Watauga County, Blowing Rock
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 36.231, -81.696 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in North Carolina, May 18, 1999
Lightning during the afternoon of the 18th struck a house in Blowing Rock, blowing a hole in the roof, breaking water pipes, and causing damage to the rafters.
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
- $20,000
- 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 RNK wrote it up.
Lightning during the afternoon of the 18th struck a house in Blowing Rock, blowing a hole in the roof, breaking water pipes, and causing damage to the rafters.
The radar
The Knoxville radar (KMRX), 153 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:37 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
- Tornado in Florida, May 18, 1999
- Flash Flood in Kentucky, May 18, 1999
- Flash Flood and Hail in Pennsylvania, May 18 to 19, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, May 18, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, May 18, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, May 18, 1999
- Lightning Strike in South Carolina, May 18, 1999
- Tornado and Waterspouts in Florida, May 18 to 31, 1999
- Tornado and Waterspouts in Florida, May 18 to 30, 1999
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, May 18, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Ohio, May 18, 1999
- Flash Flooding in West Virginia, May 18, 1999
More
Every storm in North Carolina in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in North Carolina, 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: 5695066.