Lightning, Burlington
- When
- August 14, 2:38 AM EST
- Where
- Burlington County, Atsion
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 6 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in New Jersey, August 14, 1999
A cluster of thunderstorms that moved through Southern New Jersey during the early morning hours of the 14th was a prolific lightning producer. A 42-year-old man was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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
- 1
- Injuries
- 6
- 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 PHI wrote it up.
A cluster of thunderstorms that moved through Southern New Jersey during the early morning hours of the 14th was a prolific lightning producer. A 42-year-old man was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was camping with his girlfriend and her four children when lightning struck and split a 65 foot pitch pine near where they were camping in Wharton State Forest. He was sleeping along the side wall of the tent. Lightning traveled through the ground and struck and killed him instantly. His girlfriend and her four children were treated for minor injuries and a 14-year-old boy in another tent was complaining of tingling. The lightning stroke was very intense, pieces of the pitch pine were dispersed nearly 100 feet.
The radar
The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 23 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:36 UTC.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning, Burlington | 1999-08-14 | 42 | Male | Camping | Direct |
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
- Tornado in Montana, August 14, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, August 14, 1999
- Heat in Texas, August 14, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, August 14, 1999
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Maryland, August 14, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, August 14, 1999
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Virginia, August 14, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Mississippi, August 14, 1999
- Lightning Strikes in North Carolina, August 14, 1999
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, August 14, 1999
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Georgia, August 14, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 14, 1999
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, 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: 5717855.