Lightning, Mercer
- When
- June 16, 4:30 PM EST
- Where
- Mercer County, Bluefield
- Property damage
- $500
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.406, -81.111 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in West Virginia, June 16, 2002
A thunderstorm during the afternoon of the 16th produced lightning that struck a tree, causing part of it to explode and shatter a car windshield.
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
- $500
- 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.
A thunderstorm during the afternoon of the 16th produced lightning that struck a tree, causing part of it to explode and shatter a car windshield.
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 Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 16, 1:44 PM EST, 2 hours 46 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 16, 1:44 PM EST, 2 hours 46 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG, VA 244 PM EDT SUN JUN 16 2002 WATCHING SHOWER/FEW TSRA ACTIVITY FORM THIS AFTERNOON UNDER COOL POOL ALOFT...AND STIRRED ON BY APPROACHING S/W ALOFT AND JET DYNAMICS. LOW LEVEL FLOW IS WNW AND FEEL SPRINKLES AT BEST WILL FALL EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE. THINK ACTIVITY WILL QUICKLY FADE EARLY THIS EVENING...AS UPPER DIV/LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE SHIFT SOUTHEAST...AND HEATING IS LOST. BASED ON RADAR TRENDS AND COORDINATION WITH NDFD OFFICES...WILL HAVE SHOWER CHANCES INTO EARLY EVENING OVER MY WRN FA. BEST CHANCE BEING FAR SW VA INTO THE NRN MTNS...BUT ONLY 30 POPS...AND 20 ELSEWHERE. SHORT RANGE... 5H TROF BEGINS LIFTING NE TUESDAY...WITH PATTERN DEAMPLIFYING...WITH LINGERING UPPER TROF OVER THE SRN GLF COASTAL AREA. ETA SHOWS BEST LIFT MOVING FROM TN/KY THIS EVENING TO SE NC BY 06Z...WITH ANY MOISTURE MOVING ACROSS MY FAR SWRN ZONES. HI PRS BUILDS INTO THE CENTRAL APPS MONDA NIGHT...SO SOME GOOD DECOUPLING SHOULD LEAD TO COOL TEMPS OVER THE SE WV. EXTENDED... 5H HGTS PROGGED TO BUILD OVER THE ERN U.S. WITH A RETURN TO MORE TYPICAL LATE JUNE WX. STILL LOOKS LIKE REMNANT OF UPPER TROF WILL BE LOCATED OVER THE GLF COASTAL STATES...WITH MAN PROGS SHOWING WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY LIFTING NE INTO THE FA FRIDAY. WITH A RETURN FLOW WILL COULD SEE SCTD AFTN CONVECTION...ESPECIALLY MTNS. BUT GENERALLY HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTROL OUR WX...WITH A NRN FRNT SLIDING INTO THE OH VLY SUNDAY...WHICH MAY BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO BRING A CHANCE POPS TO OUR NW ZONES. PRELIMS FCSTID = 5 ROA 54 81 53 81 / 10 0 0 10 LYH 50 83 51 83 / 10 0 0 10 DAN 56 84 53 84 / 10 0 0 10 BLF 49 74 46 76 / 20 0 0 10 LWB 48 72 43 74 / 20 0 0 10 BCB 50 77 48 76 / 20 0 0 10 TNB 48 74 47 76 / 30 10 0 10 .RNK... NC...NONE. VA...NONE. WV...NONE. WHP
The radar
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 85 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:30 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
- Tornadoes and Hail in New York, June 16, 2002
- Rip Current in New Jersey, June 16, 2002
- Wildfire in California, June 16 to 22, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Texas, June 16, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, June 16, 2002
- Tornado and Hail in New Mexico, June 16, 2002
- Tornado and Hail in Connecticut, June 16, 2002
- Tornado in Connecticut, June 16, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Massachusetts, June 16, 2002
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Florida, June 16, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Maryland, June 16, 2002
- High Surf in California, June 16, 2002
More
Every storm in West Virginia in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, June 2002
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: 5301470.