Lightning, Philadelphia
- When
- May 24, 9:00 AM EST
- Where
- Philadelphia County, Philadelphia
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Pennsylvania, May 24, 1999
m. EDT ignited a fire at a Society Hill SuperFresh Supermarket.
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.
A lightning strike around 10 a.m. EDT ignited a fire at a Society Hill SuperFresh Supermarket. The fire originated in a compressor room on the second floor of the store. More than two dozen employees and patrons in the store escaped unharmed. The fire was under control at 1120 a.m. EDT.
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 Pennsylvania in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, 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: 5699589.