Lightning, Culpeper
- When
- April 4, 3:00 PM EST
- Where
- Culpeper County, Jeffersonton
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 38.486, -77.956 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Man struck by lightning on golf course
Lightning Strike in Virginia, April 4, 1999
Around 4:00 PM EDT, a 37year-old man was struck by lightning on the South Wales Golf Course near Jeffersonton in extreme northern Culpeper County. A line of thunderstorms producing heavy downpours crossed Northern Virginia during the afternoon and was responsible for the fatal bolt of lightning.
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 LWX wrote it up.
Around 4:00 PM EDT, a 37year-old man was struck by lightning on the South Wales Golf Course near Jeffersonton in extreme northern Culpeper County. A line of thunderstorms producing heavy downpours crossed Northern Virginia during the afternoon and was responsible for the fatal bolt of lightning. The victim was standing under a cedar tree on the 17th hold to take refuge from the thunderstorm when the lightning struck. The bolt hit the tree first, then hit the victim in the head and stopped his heart. A witness said the lightning apparently exited the tree near the base, citing burn marks visible on the trunk inches from the surface and around 5 1/2 feet above the ground. The victim was discovered around 4:10 PM by golfers returning to the course. Emergency medical personnel reached the victim around 4:20 PM EDT and were able to restore vital signs, but the victim died around 11:00 PM EDT after his heart failed for a second time. This was Virginia's first known April lightning fatality.
The radar
The Sterling radar (KLWX), 68 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:58 UTC.
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, Culpeper | 1999-04-04 | 37 | Male | Under Tree | 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
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, April 4 to 5, 1999
- Tornado in Texas, April 4, 1999
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, April 4, 1999
- Flash Flood in Arkansas, April 4, 1999
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, April 4, 1999
- Tornado and Hail in Oklahoma, April 4 to 5, 1999
- Tornado in Virginia, April 4, 1999
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, April 4, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Arkansas, April 4, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, April 4, 1999
- Winter Storm in California, April 4 to 6, 1999
- Hail in Texas, April 4, 1999
More
Every storm in Virginia in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, April 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: 5695092.