Lightning, Chester
- When
- July 16, 2:15 PM EST
- Where
- Chester County, Guthriesville
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 39.973, -75.748 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Pennsylvania, July 16, 2000
A 41-year-old woman and the horse she was riding both were struck and killed by lightning in East Brandywine Township. She was taking a riding lesson with her family.
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
- 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 41-year-old woman and the horse she was riding both were struck and killed by lightning in East Brandywine Township. She was taking a riding lesson with her family.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
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, Chester | 2000-07-16 | 41 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | 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
- Heat in Louisiana, July 16, 2000
- Heat in Louisiana, July 16, 2000
- Hail in North Carolina, July 16, 2000
- Hail in North Carolina, July 16, 2000
- Flash Flood in Vermont, July 16 to 17, 2000
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Vermont, July 16 to 17, 2000
- Hail in North Carolina, July 16, 2000
- Flash Flood in Vermont, July 16 to 17, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Maryland, July 16, 2000
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Florida, July 16, 2000
- Flash Flood in Vermont, July 16 to 17, 2000
- Hail in Virginia, July 16, 2000
More
Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, July 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: 5163229.