New Jersey, 1999

Lightning Strike in New Jersey, April 16, 1999

April 16, 1999 · NWS OKX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A 15 year old boy was struck by lightning while playing baseball at West Orange High School. He was taken to Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, where he was listed in critical condition.

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
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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 OKX wrote it up.

A 15 year old boy was struck by lightning while playing baseball at West Orange High School. He was taken to Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, where he was listed in critical condition.

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, Essex

When
April 16, 4:00 PM EST
Where
Essex County, East Orange
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.787, -74.247 (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 Jersey in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, April 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: 5700987.