First in Utah since 2016 - Man dies after lightning strike, others injured

Our WeatherRadar has recently been active with storms across the West, also known as the monsoon. Utah's storms on Sunday had lots of lightning, and it only took one strike to kill a man and injure his friends while boating.

A group of men were fishing late Saturday night, August 19, just north of Salt Lake City in Bear River. Storms were rolling in from the west, and lightning struck, capsizing their boat. Two men were able to swim ashore, but the third body was recovered from the water before sunrise on Sunday. Authorities have confirmed that he died because of the lightning strike.

Lightning deaths increase sharply during summer because of more frequent storms and because more people are doing activities outdoors. These deaths are preventable. Staying informed with the latest weather forecast is crucial to staying safe and alive. Remember that lightning can strike as far as 15 miles from the base of a storm, it doesn't have to be storming at your location to get struck by lightning.

Our Weather & Radar app offers the WeatherRadar to see where and when storms will develop and move toward, LightningRadar to see where the latest lightning strikes have hit, and a 90-minute localized weather forecast. You can check these three to make the best-informed decision when heading outdoors. Another great tool is our weather alert system, which notifies you when adverse weather conditions are expected.