Lightning, New Haven
- When
- July 17, 8:30 PM EST
- Where
- New Haven County, Wolcott
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 41.362, -72.844 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Connecticut, July 17, 1998
As thunderstorms moved across the area, they produced frequent lightning and heavy rain. Lightning struck a chimney at 42 Paul Street in Wolcott.
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
- 0
- 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 OKX wrote it up.
As thunderstorms moved across the area, they produced frequent lightning and heavy rain. Lightning struck a chimney at 42 Paul Street in Wolcott. The chimney exploded causing bricks to fall on the front yard. Lightning also ignited a fire that spread to a wall closest to the chimney.
The radar
The Brookhaven radar (KOKX), 55 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:27 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
- Heat in Oklahoma, July 17, 1998
- Wildfire in Montana, July 17 to 23, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, July 17, 1998
- Wildfire in Montana, July 17 to 19, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, July 17, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Vermont, July 17, 1998
- Lightning Strike in New Jersey, July 17, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Texas, July 17, 1998
- Damaging Wind in Puerto Rico, July 17, 1998
- Damaging Winds in Texas, July 17, 1998
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Massachusetts, July 17, 1998
- Funnel Clouds in Florida, July 17, 1998
More
Every storm in Connecticut in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Connecticut, July 1998
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: 5657509.