New York, 1998

Lightning Strikes in New York, February 18, 1998

February 18, 1998 · NWS OKX · 2 events in 1 county or zone

Lightning struck a house at 1445 Bay Shore Road in Greenport and set it ablaze. The house was totally destroyed.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 a warm front between two low pressure systems (one off the coast and one over the Ohio Valley) moved north, it produced heavy showers and thunderstorms.Lightning struck a house at 1445 Bay Shore Road in Greenport and set it ablaze. The house was totally destroyed. Two other houses in the Greenport area were also struck: minimal damage occurred to one house and no apparent damage occurred to the other house.Lightning also struck a propane tank next to a house in East Hampton. It ignited a fire that totally destroyed this house.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Suffolk

When
February 18, 3:27 AM EST
Where
Suffolk County, Greenport
Coordinates
40.941, -72.685 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning, Suffolk

When
February 18, 3:30 AM EST
Where
Suffolk County, East Hampton
Coordinates
40.941, -72.685 (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

More

Every storm in New York in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, February 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: 5636901, 5636902.