Lightning, Sussex
- When
- August 23, 5:08 PM EST
- Where
- Sussex County, Andover
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 41.140, -74.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in New Jersey, August 23, 1996
A 55-year-old man was critically injured when struck by lightning while working on a car in his driveway in Andover. He suffered burns below his knees.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
- 1
- Property damage
- None recorded
- 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 PHI wrote it up.
A 55-year-old man was critically injured when struck by lightning while working on a car in his driveway in Andover. He suffered burns below his knees. It had rained and lightning apparently struck the wet ground about 15 feet from where he was working. It formed a trench in the dirt and blew holes in the concrete driveway. The heat from the lightning was so intense, it melted some of the cars' tires parked in the driveway.
The radar
The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 135 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:09 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 Flood in Missouri, August 23, 1996
- Lightning Strike in South Carolina, August 23, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, August 23, 1996
- Flood in Florida, August 23, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, August 23, 1996
- Tornado in Florida, August 23, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, August 23, 1996
- Lightning Strike in California, August 23, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Georgia, August 23, 1996
- Lightning Strike in New York, August 23, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Indiana, August 23, 1996
- Lightning Strike in New York, August 23, 1996
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, August 1996
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: 5571243.