Lightning — Angelina, Texas

2013-05-21 · near Lufkin, Angelina, Texas

Event narrative

A woman was struck by lightning and killed outside an eating establishment during the nighttime hours of May 21st. She was standing outside adjacent to the restaurant holding an umbrella when she was struck. According to a Lufkin Police spokesman, lightning entered her upper torso and exited her feet. A chunk of concrete was blown out of the parking lot in a space to the side of the business where she was hit.

A witness said he was inside the restaurant when he heard and saw an explosion followed by sparks flying off of her and her umbrella. At first she had stopped breathing, then began again and was put inside an ambulance but she died a short time later at an area hospital.

Wider weather episode

A strong upper level trough across the southern Great Basin ejected out into the Southern Plains during the day on May 21st. Strong convection developed during peak heating across the region and this convection was aided by moderate to strong instability, excessive deep layer shear and mid level lapse rates. Add a frontal boundary to the mix and severe thunderstorms became widespread, some of which produced large hail and damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.3500, -94.7300)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 467101. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.