Lightning, Denali
- When
- June 24, 5:00 PM AKST to June 25, 12:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Denali County, 2.46 mi NNW of Healy
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 63.880, -149.014
Lightning Strike in Alaska, June 24 to 25, 2015
A thermal trough helped produce numerous thunderstorms during the afternoon of June 24th. Lightning from one of these thunderstorms struck a residence in Healy, Alaska.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
- $5,000
- 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 AFG wrote it up.
A thermal trough helped produce numerous thunderstorms during the afternoon of June 24th. Lightning from one of these thunderstorms struck a residence in Healy, Alaska. The lightning entered a phone box on the side of the house and traveled through the wires of the house and then exited through the rain gutter. The phone box and gutter were both destroyed as well as some inside appliances. Damage amount is a rough guess based only on the news article description.
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 Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 24, 3:45 PM AKST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 24, 3:45 PM AKST, 1 hour 15 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 445 PM AKDT WED JUN 24 2015 .DISCUSSION... THE 992 MB LOW NORTH OF WRANGEL ISLAND WILL MOVE EAST OVER THE NORTHERN CHUKCHI SEA TO BE 992 MB 350 NM NORTH OF CAPE LISBURNE AT 4PM THU...THEN TUBE OUT TO THE NORTHEAST. THE COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LOW LIES JUST OFFSHORE FROM BARROW TO CAPE LISBURNE THEN SOUTHWEST TO THE CHUKOTSK PENINSULA. THE FRONT EAST AND SOUTHEAST TO LIE FROM ABOUT NUIQSUT TO KOTZEBUE TO NOME AND DIFFUSE SOUTHWESTWARD. THE PORTION OF THE FRONT FROM KOTZEBUE NORTHEAST WILL STALL THEREAFTER...BUT THE REMAINDER WILL CONTINUE SOUTHEAST THURSDAY NIGHT TO LIE FROM KOTZEBUE SOUTH FRIDAY MORNING AFTERNOON...THEN STALL. THIS FRONT WILL NOT CONTRIBUTE HAVE MUCH DIRECT EFFECT ON EVENTS IN THE INTERIOR...EVEN IN THE WESTERN INTERIOR. ON THE OTHER HAND...A STRONG SHORT WAVE WILL MOVE SOUTH OVER THE EASTERN BERING SEA ON SATURDAY ON ON THE BACK THE TROUGH ALOFT SUPPORTING THIS FRONT. THE SHORT WAVE WILL CROSS THE ALASKA PENINSULA SATURDAY NIGHT AND CONTRIBUTE TO DEVELOPMENTS IN THE GULF OF ALASKA. THE LOW ALOFT OVER THE SOUTHERN GULF OF ALASKA IS DRIFTING NORTH. IT HAS PREVIOUSLY SLUNG SOME WEAK SHORT WAVES INTO THE PANHANDLE. THE NEXT OF THESE SHORT WAVES WILL BEGIN TO IMPACT MAINLAND ALASKA...AND THEY WILL HAVE INCREASING IMPACT AS THE LOW ALOFT CONTINUES NORTH...PARTICULARLY ON SUNDAY...WHEN IT IS REINFORCED BY SHORT WAVE COMING IN FROM THE BERING SEA. EXPECT MORE PRECIPITATION IN THE EASTERN INTERIOR OVER THE WEEKEND... AND PROBABLY ENOUGH MODIFICATION OF THE AIRMASS TO HELP THE SMOKEY CONDITIONS TO A CONSIDERABLE EXTENT. COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE && .FIRE WEATHER... ACTIVE CONVECTIVE REGIME OVER THE ALASKA RANGE GRADUALLY WORKING ITS WAY NORTHWARD OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. && .HYDROLOGY...NO ISSUES. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING FOR AKZ217-AKZ218-AKZ219-AKZ220. DENSE SMOKE ADVISORY FOR AKZ221-AKZ222. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ220. && DJH JUN 15
The radar
The Fairbanks Faa radar (PAPD), 148 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:56 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
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Missouri, June 24 to 26, 2015
- Flash Flood and Hail in Georgia, June 24, 2015
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Mississippi, June 24 to 27, 2015
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Colorado, June 24 to 25, 2015
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, June 24, 2015
- Hail and Damaging Wind in South Dakota, June 24, 2015
- Damaging Winds in Louisiana, June 24, 2015
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, June 24 to 25, 2015
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Alabama, June 24, 2015
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Florida, June 24, 2015
- Flooding in South Dakota, June 24 to 25, 2015
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, June 24 to 27, 2015
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, June 2015
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: 592044.