Lightning, York
- When
- August 23, 6:20 PM EST
- Where
- York County, Sanford
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 43.429, -70.670 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Maine, August 23, 1999
One man was injured when he was struck by lightning while playing a video machine at the American Legion building in Sanford. Lightning was reported to have arced through all the video machines and also damaged an electrical sign at the building .
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 GYX wrote it up.
One man was injured when he was struck by lightning while playing a video machine at the American Legion building in Sanford. Lightning was reported to have arced through all the video machines and also damaged an electrical sign at the building . The man reportedly complained of chest pain and difficulty hearing and was treated at a nearby hospital.
The radar
The Portland,ME radar (KGYX), 61 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:17 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
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, August 23, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, August 23, 1999
- Flash Flooding in Puerto Rico, August 23, 1999
- Wildfire in California, August 23 to 31, 1999
- Flash Flood in Colorado, August 23, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, August 23, 1999
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, August 23 to 24, 1999
- Wildfire in California, August 23 to 29, 1999
- Wildfire in California, August 23 to 29, 1999
- Flood and Damaging Winds in Illinois, August 23, 1999
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Virginia, August 23, 1999
- Flooding and Hail in Iowa, August 23, 1999
More
Every storm in Maine in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, August 1999
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: 5714611.