Oregon, 2003

Lightning Strike in Oregon, August 5, 2003

August 5, 2003 · NWS PQR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An 8 yr-old girl survived a bolt of lightning that struck a tree outside the tent she was sleeping in. The lightning bolt traveled down the tree through its root system, then jumped to the girl and struck her near the ear, then traveled through her legs back into ground.

Where it happened

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  • Cold
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  • Marine and coastal
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The toll

Deaths
0
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 PQR wrote it up.

An 8 yr-old girl survived a bolt of lightning that struck a tree outside the tent she was sleeping in. The lightning bolt traveled down the tree through its root system, then jumped to the girl and struck her near the ear, then traveled through her legs back into ground. Her heart stopped but was resuscitated by her parents. Injuries included burned ears, a blown eardrum, hematoma, and burns on her legs.

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 Aug 5, 2:00 AM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 5, 2:00 AM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes before
NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
300 AM PDT TUE AUG 5 2003

.SYNOPSIS...AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OFF THE CA COAST WILL
MOVE NORTHEAST AND CROSS THE FORECAST AREA TUE NIGHT. THE LOW WILL
SPREAD MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR ACROSS THE REGION AS IT CROSSES.
ONSHORE FLOW WILL INCREASE AS THE LOW PASSES BY SPREADING IN COOLER
MARINE AIR TUE AND WED. ANOTHER LOW WILL DROP DOWN TO OFF THE WA
COAST THU AND FRI.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...TSTM ACTIVITY CONTINUES EAST OF THE CASCADES IN A MOIST
UNSTABLE AIR MASS. LIGHTNING DATA INDICATES THE MOST ACTIVE AREA OF
CONVECTION ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER LOW OFF THE CA COAST IS ROTATING
TO NEAR AND OFF THE COAST AS IT MOVES SLOWLY NORTH. MID LEVEL FORCING
WILL BE INCREASING TODAY AS THE LOW CONTINUES ITS SLOW TREK NORTH
ALONG THE OREGON COAST...AS CONSISTENTLY INDICATED BY THE MODELS.
WILL INCREASE THE CHANCE OF TSTMS OVER THE SOUTHERN MARINE
WATERS...OTHERWISE WILL CONTINUE WITH GENERAL IDEA OF SPREADING
CHANCES FOR CONVECTION NORTH TODAY...AS DYNAMIC LIFT COULD REDEVELOP
SHOWERS OR LOCAL TSTMS INLAND...AIDED BY SOME HEATING AGAIN THIS
AFTERNOON. INCREASED CLOUD COVER SHOULD KNOCK SEVERAL DEGREES OFF
HIGH TEMPS FROM YESTERDAY. THE SYSTEM SLOWLY SHIFTS NORTH OF THE AREA
BY WED MORNING...BUT ANOTHER WEAK UPPER TROUGH MAY GIVE A CHANCE OF
AFTERNOON/EVENING TSTMS TO THE CENTRAL CASCADES WED. GFS SHOWS A MORE
SIGNIFICANT UPPER LOW SITUATED NEAR 130W ON THU... WHICH MAY BE CLOSE
ENOUGH FOR MOISTURE BANDS TO BRING ANOTHER THREAT OF SHOWERS INTO THE
AREA...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE COAST. LIKENS

.LONG TERM...NO CHANGES. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FOLLOWS...MODELS IN
DECENT AGREEMENT KEEPING A TROUGH JUST OFF THE COAST THROUGH MOST OF
EXTENDED.  MAIN PRECIPITATION CHANCES APPEAR TO BE THU-FRI AND AGAIN
MON.  MODELS CONTINUE TO ROTATE A VORT MAX AROUND THE LOW BRUSHING
AGAINST THE NW PART OF THE FORECAST AREA THU INTO EARLY FRI.  WILL
KEEP A CHANCE OF SHOWERS GOING IN THE NW AND OVER THE NORTHERN
CASCADES THU...AND RUN A SLIGHT CHANCE ALONG THE COAST INTO FRI.  GFS
ROTATES ANOTHER SHORTWAVE DOWN INTO BASE OF TROUGH BY MON PUSHING THE
MAIN TROUGH AXIS CLOSER TO COAST.  ALTHOUGH ENSEMBLES AT THIS RANGE
PREDICTABLY SHOWING A LITTLE CHAOS...CANADIAN OPERATIONAL RUN APPEARS
TO SUPPORT THIS IDEA...SO WILL ADD A BROAD BRUSHED CHANCE OF SHOWERS
TO MON.

AST 22113 PDX 33112 SLE 33111 EUG 43111

.PQR...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 5, 4:30 AM PST, 1 hour 45 minutes before
ORZ001>013-WAZ019>023-039-040-061230-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
530 AM PDT TUE AUG 5 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST
WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE... TODAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME

The radar

The Portland,OR radar (KRTX), 140 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:17 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Linn

When
August 5, 6:15 AM PST
Where
Linn County, Lebanon
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.489, -122.534 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 Oregon in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, August 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: 5374845.