Lightning Strike in New Hampshire, August 3, 2001

Name: Lightning Strike in New Hampshire, August 3, 2001
Start: 2001-08-03T12:00
End: 2001-08-03T12:00
Location: New Hampshire

August 3, 2001 · NWS GYX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lightning struck an 80-ft pine tree causing the top of the tree to break off and fall to the ground. Unfortunately, a truck was parked under the falling treetop, and was destroyed on impact.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 GYX wrote it up.

Lightning struck an 80-ft pine tree causing the top of the tree to break off and fall to the ground. Unfortunately, a truck was parked under the falling treetop, and was destroyed on impact.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Gray, ME wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 3, 8:45 AM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 3, 8:45 AM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
945 AM EDT FRI AUG 3 2001

WL UPDATE THIS MRNG...MAINLY TO TRY TO REFINE TEMPS...AND CONVECTIVE
PNTL.

SFC FNT LIES ACRS THE CNTRL PTN OF THE FA ATTM...AND NOT MUCH TO
PUSH IT MUCH FURTHER S DURG THE DAY.  N OF THE FNT...THE AMS IS
SLOWLY CHANGING...AND AM BEGINNING TO WONDER ABT THE CONVECTIVE PTNL
HERE.  WL CONT WITH A MIN POP HERE...SINCE THE PROXIMITY OF THE FNT
(OR ANY BOUNDARIES THAT ARE FORMED FM CONVECTION S OF THESE ZNS) MAY
BE ENUF FOR SCT POPS.

JUST A BIT OF ACTIVITY WITH/JUST S OF THE FNT NOW..AND WUD EXPECT
THAT THIS AREA (AND S) WL BE THE FOCUS OF ACTIVITY.  S/W OVR THE
GRTLKS SHUD BE CLOSE TO THE SRN FA BY 00Z...AND IT MAY TAKE THIS S/W
TO INITIATE CONVECTION ON THE OLD BOUNDARY.

HOWEVER...THE AMS IS MARGINALLY UNSTABLE...AND SHUD DESTABILIZE
FURTHER W/TIME. THE ONLY PROBLEM HERE MAY BE THE CLDS ACRS ERN NYS
AND VT CUTTING DOWN ON INSOLATION.  THIS CUD CUT THE PTNL SUM...BUT
SHUDN'T ELIMINATE.

SO...WL KEEP THE 40/50 POP FOR THIS AFTN FOR CNTRL AND SRN ZNS.  THE
WIND FIELD INCREASES A BIT DURG THE MID TO LATE AFTN WITH THE APCH
OF THE S/W...BUT PROBABLY LESS THAN 30 KTS.  CAPES ARE HIGH...BUT SO
ARE FREEZING LEVELS...SO ANY TSRA DEVELOPMENT SHUD BE MORE +RA...AND
NOT IMPRESSED WITH THE SEVERE PTNL.

MAY SPLIT OFF (BASED ON SATL LOOP) SRN NH FM THE INTERIOR ME ZNS...
SINCE THIS AREA MAY SEE MORE IN THE WAY OF CLDS. WL BUMPS MAXES UP A
BIT IN ME...AND GIVE A BIT BETTER DEFINITION TO THE MAXES ALG THE
CSTL ZNS.  WITH THE IMPINGING FNT...MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GET ARND TO
SEA BREEZE UNTL AFT 18Z.

NO OTHER CHANGES TO THE PUBLIC FCST.  WL TAKE ANOTHER LUK AT THE
PTNL FOR PCPN SAT THIS AFTN...BUT IT APPEARS AS THO THE FNT MAY BE
CLOSE ENUF FOR CONVECTION CNTRL AND SRN ZNS.

ON THE COASTAL WATERS...WINDS AND SEAS SHUD REMAIN BLO SCA LEVELS
TDY...THE BECOME E/NE TNGT AND SAT;.

HOPE TO HAVE THE UPDATED ZNS OUT BY 1030 AM OR SO...

.GYX...NONE.

HAYES

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Strafford

When: August 3, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Strafford County, Rochester
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 43.297, -71.029 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in New Hampshire in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in New Hampshire, August 2001

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: 5263359.