Lightning — Lea, New Mexico

1996-08-08 · near Lovington, Lea, New Mexico

Wider weather episode

Two employees of Lea County Co-op Electric were killed by lightning while attempting to repair lines that had been disabled during a previous storm. Since there were no witnesses of the incident it was first thought the two men had been electrocuted by the lines on which they were working, however, a subsequent investigation ruled out this possibility. People in the area noted a couple of close lightning strikes, and with other evidence, it was surmised that the two were lightning strike victims.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5576479. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.