Lightning, Clackamas
- When
- April 10, 5:00 PM PST
- Where
- Clackamas County, Molalla
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 45.188, -122.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Oregon, April 10, 2003
Lightning struck Molalla resident Michael Gustafson, 46, just outside his home. Lightning apparently struck the victim in the head and traveled down his left side.
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
- 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.
What happened
The episode as NWS PQR wrote it up.
Lightning struck Molalla resident Michael Gustafson, 46, just outside his home. Lightning apparently struck the victim in the head and traveled down his left side. His heart was stopped for a moment, and he was hospitalized at Oregon Health Sciences University for several days. He suffered extensive nerve damage and memory loss, requiring ongoing medical attention.
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 Portland, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 10, 2:00 PM PST, 3 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 10, 2:00 PM PST, 3 hours before
NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR 300 PM PDT THU APR 10 2003 .SYNOPSIS...A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE IN THE NORTHEAST PACIFIC WILL SLOWLY DROP TOWARD THE PAC NW THROUGH SATURDAY AND MEANDER OVER THE REGION THROUGH THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL RESULT IN A PERIOD OF UNSETTLED WEATHER. .DISCUSSION... .SHORT TERM...UPPER LOW OVER NE PACIFIC WITH NWLY JET ON BACKSIDE WILL SLOWLY DIG TROUGH TOWARD REGION FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. SATELLITE SHOWS UPPER FLOW CONTINUING TO BACK OVER REGION AS ONE SHORTWAVE NOW ROTATING OUT OF TROUGH AND HEADED NORTH OVER THE WASHINGTON COASTAL WATERS. TRAILING FRONT WILL MOVE TO THE COAST THIS TONIGHT AND INLAND FRI AM. UPPER LOW CONTINUES TO DIG TOWARD NORTHERN CA ON FRI NIGHT/SAT. THIS WILL SET UP A SOUTHERLY DIFLUENT FLOW OVER AREA BY SAT AFTERNOON IN ADDITION TO A BUOYANT AIR MASS FOR A GOOD SETUP FOR CONVECTION. WILL ADD MENTION OF THUNDERSTORMS TO ZONES SAT AFTERNOON INTO EARLY EVENING. UPPER LOW DRIFTS OVER AREA SUN BRINGING COLD POOL OF AIR ALOFT (-30C AT 500MB SUN AFTERNOON). SO WILL MENTION CHANCE THUNDERSTORMS OVER CWA SUN PM. ONSHORE FLOW FOLLOWS SUN NIGHT/MON THUS STABILIZING AIR MASS. .LONG TERM...CURRENT EXTENDED MODEL RUNS KEEP GENERAL TROUGH OVER AREA THROUGH TUE AND THEN SLOWLY DRIFT IT EAST WED AND THU. HOWEVER WITH MODEL FLUCTUATIONS WILL KEEP A BROAD BRUSH DURING THIS PERIOD WITH CHANCE POPS THE BEST OPTION HERE. AST 765555 PDX 566555 SLE 566555 EUG 555555 .PQR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 10, 5:00 AM PST, 12 hours before
ORZ001>013-WAZ019>023-039-040-101300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR 600 AM PDT THU APR 10 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON. .DAY ONE...TODAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNEDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO SKYWARN PROCEDURES.
The radar
The Portland,OR radar (KRTX), 82 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:01 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
- Tropical Storm in Guam, April 10, 2003
- Flash Flood in Hawaii, April 10, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, April 10 to 11, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Strong Wind in Virginia, April 10 to 11, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Flooding in Tennessee, April 10 to 11, 2003
- Strong Wind in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Flooding and Strong Wind in Virginia, April 10, 2003
- Flooding and Strong Wind in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Flooding in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Heavy Snow in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
More
Every storm in Oregon in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, April 2003
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: 5351649.