Lightning, Montezuma
- When
- August 6, 3:00 AM MST
- Where
- Montezuma County, Cortez
- Injuries
- 3 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.338, -108.597 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Colorado, August 6, 2001
A father and his two sons were struck by lightning after seeking shelter from a thunderstorm under a tall cottonwood tree. The three men were on a golf course and had sought shelter under the tree when it started to rain.
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
- 3
- 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 GJT wrote it up.
A father and his two sons were struck by lightning after seeking shelter from a thunderstorm under a tall cottonwood tree. The three men were on a golf course and had sought shelter under the tree when it started to rain. Lightning struck the tree and then passed through all three men, leaving each with severe burns. One victim also suffered a head injury as he was thrown to the ground.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 6, 1:22 AM MST, 1 hour 38 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 6, 1:22 AM MST, 1 hour 38 minutes before
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 222 AM MDT MON AUG 6 2001 DEEP EASTERLY FLOW OVER THE FORECAST AREA THIS MORNING ENHANCING DRAINAGE WINDS IN MOST VALLEYS LOCATIONS. THIS IS HELPING TO KEEP OVERNIGHT MINS RATHER WARM SO FAR. SOME DECREASE IN SPEEDS WL OCCUR NEAR SUNRISE...SO WE SHOULD STILL DROP DOWN TO NEAR FORECAST VALUES. BIG STORY OVER THE NEXT 48 HOURS WILL BE CONVECTIVE POTENTIAL AS MOIST EASTERLY FLOW PERSISTS THROUGH THE PERIOD. PLENTY OF STORMS FIRED LAST EVENING WITH SOME ACTIVITY STILL LINGERING OVER THE SAN JUANS THIS MORNING. CLOUDY START TO DAY WILL SLOW HEATING...BUT PROXIMITY OF SHRTWV HEADING WEST OF THE DIVIDE WL HELP TO TRIGGER ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. EXPECT MORE ACTIVITY NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70 AS WELL WITH MODELS INDICATING BETTER MOISTURE MOVING INTO THAT AREA. IN ADDITION...MID LEVEL TEMPS NOT EXPECTED TO WARM AS MUCH AS EARLIER RUNS WERE INDICATING...SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO OVERCOME THE WEAK MID- LEVEL CAP ACROSS THE NORTH. UPSTREAM SOUNDINGS...AND WERE TALKING KDDC/KAMA AND KBOU THIS MORNING...SHOWING PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES STILL IN EXCESS OF 1 INCH. THIS COMBINED WITH THE FACT THAT STORMS WILL BE FAIRLY SLOW MOVERS DUE TO WEAK WINDS ALOFT...RAISES THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. WL HIGHLIGHT THIS POTENTIAL ACRS OUR SRN ZONES FOR NOW. MODELS STILL COOLING THE FCST AREA DOWN SLOWLY...AND WITH MORE CLOUD COVER EXPECTED...THIS LOOKS REASONABLE. HOWEVER...WL BE LEANING TOWARD THE WARMER FAN/FWC NUMBERS AS THE MAV NUMBERS HAVE BEEN ON THE COOL SIDE THE LAST SEVERAL RUNS. MOISTURE HANGS AROUND THE REGION THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEK WITH THREAT OF CONVECTION JUST ABOUT EVERYDAY. CURRENT EXTENDED HAS THIS COVERED... SO NO CHANGES. EMERGENCY MANAGERS IN SOUTHWEST COLORADO SHOULD MAINTAIN A HIGH LEVEL OF WEATHER AWARENESS THROUGH TONIGHT DUE TO SLOW MOVING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. RAINFALL RATES OF UP TO AN INCH AN HOUR WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS...LEADING TO THE POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING AND/OR ROCK AND MUD SLIDES. OTHER EMERGENCY MANAGERS IN WESTERN COLORADO AND EASTERN UTAH SHOULD MAINTAIN A HEIGHTENED LEVEL OF WEATHER AWARENESS THROUGH TONIGHT DUE TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. COLTON .GJT...NONE.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
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
- Heat in Pennsylvania, August 6 to 10, 2001
- Heat in Illinois, August 6 to 9, 2001
- Heat in Michigan, August 6 to 9, 2001
- Heat in Wisconsin, August 6 to 9, 2001
- Heat in Maryland, August 6 to 10, 2001
- Heat in New Jersey, August 6 to 10, 2001
- Heat in Maryland, August 6 to 10, 2001
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Texas, August 6, 2001
- Heat in Texas, August 6, 2001
- Flash Flood in Florida, August 6 to 9, 2001
- Flash Flood in Florida, August 6, 2001
- Tropical Storm in Alabama, August 6, 2001
More
Every storm in Colorado in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, August 2001
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: 5265780.