Lightning, Somerset
- When
- May 18, 6:55 PM EST
- Where
- Somerset County, 4 mi SE of Mt Bethel
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 40.564, -74.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in New Jersey, May 18, 2000
Lightning struck the roof of a four apartment colonial home and sparked a fire in the attic. The attic was heavily damaged by the fire and there was water damage elsewhere in 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
- 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 the roof of a four apartment colonial home and sparked a fire in the attic. The attic was heavily damaged by the fire and there was water damage elsewhere in the building. The tenants were made homeless, but no serious injuries were reported.
The radar
The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 71 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:56 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
- Heat in Texas, May 18, 2000
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Michigan, May 18 to 19, 2000
- Tornadoes and Hail in New York, May 18, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 18, 2000
- Damaging Winds in Illinois, May 18, 2000
- Rip Current in California, May 18, 2000
- Tornadoes and Flooding in Iowa, May 18, 2000
- Wildfire in Alaska, May 18, 2000
- Flash Flood and Flooding in Wisconsin, May 18, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Illinois, May 18, 2000
- Flash Flooding in Michigan, May 18 to 20, 2000
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 18, 2000
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, May 2000
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: 5145148.