California, 2005

Lightning Strike in California, October 16, 2005

October 16, 2005 · NWS PSR · 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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 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 Phoenix, AZ wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 16, 9:05 PM MST, 2 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 16, 9:05 PM MST, 2 hours 50 minutes before
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The radar

The Yuma radar (KYUX), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:57 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Imperial

When
October 16, 11:55 PM MST
Where
Imperial County, El Centro
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
33.040, -115.365 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A three-alarm haystack fire in rural El Centro was sparked by lightning late Sunday night, forcing four families from their homes. The storm system also dropped nearly an inch of rain on Imperial County along with reports of hail in Imperial and Holtville. Power was knocked out in Imperial for about 2 hours.

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 California in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in California, October 2005

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5478449.