Illinois, 2000

Lightning Strike in Illinois, May 9, 2000

May 9, 2000 · NWS PAH · 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
$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.

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, Wayne

When
May 9, 4:45 PM CST
Where
Wayne County, Fairfield
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
38.430, -88.426 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning struck the Wal-Mart store near register seven. The lightning bolt came through the tile floor behind the register, making a hole and narrowly missing several people. A couple of shoppers were hit in the legs by pieces of tile blown out by the lightning. One theory is that the lightning travelled underneath the store along a steel beam before rising through the tile.

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 Illinois in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, May 2000

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: 5144070.