Lightning Strike in Oregon, August 30, 1999

Name: Lightning Strike in Oregon, August 30, 1999
Start: 1999-08-30T11:30
End: 1999-08-30T11:30
Location: Oregon

August 30, 1999 · NWS PQR · 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: 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 Portland,OR radar (KRTX), 47 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:30 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Multnomah

When: August 30, 11:30 AM PST
Where: Multnomah County, 2 mi N of Gresham
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 45.547, -122.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning struck Richard Parker, 14, of Gresham as he was bicycling near NE 230th Court in Wood Village at 1230 PDT. The lightning struck him in the head and exited through his groin. His companion at the time called 911 from a neighbors house and paramedics arrived in about two minutes. Parkers's heart had stopped, and he suffered a concussion and second degree burns on his face, chest, groin, and upper legs. Parker apparently did not receive the full force of the bolt directly, which spared his life. He was still on his bicycle with his hands on the handlebars when the paramedics arrived. He was revived in the ambulance enroute to the hospital and he is expected to recover.

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 Oregon in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, August 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: 5719297.