Pennsylvania, 2000

Lightning Strike in Pennsylvania, September 12, 2000

September 12, 2000 · NWS CTP · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$20,000
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.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Lancaster

When
September 12, 2:56 AM EST
Where
Lancaster County, Lancaster
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
40.042, -76.248 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Early morning lightning bolts struck a city elementary school and church. The lightning strike hit a chimney, shot through the roof through the attic, and into a fourth grade classroom. The strike took out one side of the chimney, scattering bricks on the roof. Another lightning strike exploded one of the top-most stone turrets, sending heavy chunks onto the street and sidewalk below. When the 500 lb. structure exploded, it also left holes in the roof, allowing substantial amounts of water to soak into the interior. Debris and plaster-soaked water filled the pipes in the church's 70 year old Moeller organ.

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

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, September 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: 5171710.