Lightning, Burlington
- When
- May 24, 8:45 AM EST
- Where
- Burlington County, Mt Laurel
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in New Jersey, May 24, 1999
Lightning struck and knocked down a 13,000 volt power line near New Jersey State Route 73 in Mount Laurel. The downed line ignited an underground gas line and caused a fire.
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 PHI wrote it up.
Lightning struck and knocked down a 13,000 volt power line near New Jersey State Route 73 in Mount Laurel. The downed line ignited an underground gas line and caused a fire. The fire forced the closure of two lanes of Route 73 as well as the nearby exit ramp of the New Jersey Turnpike. About 5,000 homes and businesses lost power in Maple Shade, Moorestown and Mount Laurel.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
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 New Mexico, May 24, 1999
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, May 24, 1999
- Damaging Winds in Maryland, May 24, 1999
- Hail and Lightning Strikes in Colorado, May 24, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Texas, May 24, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, May 24, 1999
- Lightning Strike in Maryland, May 24, 1999
- Damaging Wind in New Mexico, May 24, 1999
- Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, May 24, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Maryland, May 24, 1999
- Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, May 24, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, May 24, 1999
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, May 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: 5699593.