Lightning Starts House Fire, Kills 2

Lightning struck a home last night during powerful storms in Louisville, and the resulting fire killed a bedridden elderly man and his granddaughter. The woman was trying to get her grandfather out of the house, CNN reports. "Lightning struck an 80-foot-tall tree, hit about 40 feet up, and it entered a phone wire that came in through the rear of the house," an official says. A 911 call came from inside, and firefighters arrived within minutes.

Violent thunderstorms also caused car accidents, floods, and power outages across Kentucky. The roof of a hotel was partially ripped off, and a man on a speedboat in the Ohio River was struck by lightning. (More lightning stories.)