Lightning Strike in New York, May 20, 1996

Name: Lightning Strike in New York, May 20, 1996
Start: 1996-05-20T01:30
End: 1996-05-20T01:45
Location: New York

May 20, 1996 · NWS BTV · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A warm front moved across northern New York late Sunday night (5/19/96) and early Monday morning (5/20/96). Lightning strikes in the Massena, NY (St.

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.

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $5,000
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 BTV wrote it up.

A warm front moved across northern New York late Sunday night (5/19/96) and early Monday morning (5/20/96). Thunderstorms moved across northern New York between 12 midnight EST and 4 AM EST Monday with locally strong winds and heavy rain...with widespread frequent cloud to ground lightning.Lightning strikes in the Massena, NY (St. Lawrence County) area resulted in trees down and power outages between 130 AM EST and 145 AM EST Monday. Trees were blown down in the Malone and Westville areas of New York (Franklin County) between 2 AM EST and 215 AM EST Monday.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, St. Lawrence

When: May 20, 1:30 AM EST to 1:45 AM EST
Where: St. Lawrence County, Massena
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 44.501, -75.116 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in New York in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in New York, May 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: 5551267.