Lightning, Hudson
- When
- August 12, 8:30 PM EST
- Where
- Hudson County, Hoboken
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 40.731, -74.076 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in New Jersey, August 12, 2001
On Sunday, August 12th, a weak low pressure system over the Ohio Valley moved slowly northeast into western Pennsylvania. A warm front attached to this low moved north across New Jersey late Sunday, producing scattered thunderstorms Sunday night.
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
- $10,000
- 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.
What happened
The episode as NWS OKX wrote it up.
On Sunday, August 12th, a weak low pressure system over the Ohio Valley moved slowly northeast into western Pennsylvania. A warm front attached to this low moved north across New Jersey late Sunday, producing scattered thunderstorms Sunday night. Some of these thunderstorms were accompanied by frequent cloud to ground lightning. Shortly before 10 PM EDT, lightning struck the chimney of Connors school in Hoboken. Damage estimates of 10,000 dollars were reported. No one was injured.
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 New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 12, 1:54 PM EST, 6 hours 36 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 12, 1:54 PM EST, 6 hours 36 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY 254 PM EDT SUN AUG 12 2001 SHORT TERM: AGN...IT DOESNT EXACTLY APR THAT THE SHORT RANGE MDLS DOING ALL THAT WELL W/ THINGS...THO PRFR ETA MDL OVR THE OTHRS GIVEN THAT WV NW OF IAD SEEMS BETTER DEPICTED BY ETA THAN OTHRS. APRS THAT BEST PROB OF SHRAS/SCT TS WL BE TIL ARND MIDNIGHT W/ ONE SCATTERING OF SHRAS OVR NJ AND GETTING INTO KNYC VCNTY ATTM AND 2ND STGR LOOKING BATCH W OF I-81 IN PA/MD. ANTHR ISSUE W/ MDL OUTPUT IS NWD PROGRESS OF FNTL SYS OVR LI ATTM. ONCE WE LOSE DAYLIGHT...FNTS TEND NOT TO PROGRESS NWD ARND HERE W/OUT STG SLY GRAD FLOW TO WORK W/ (FOR MST ANY TIME OF YR)...AND THAT IS CERTAINLY LACKING HERE NOW. THUS...AGREE W/ ZNY AND OKX AVN FCSTRS THAT FNT WL NOT MAKE A WHOLE LOT MORE NWD PROGRESS. AMT OF FG/OVRNGT TEMPS AND TS PTNTL DO DEPEND ON EXACT LOCNS OF FNT DROPPING ANCHOR...AND WL SPLIT THE DIFF OF ALL OPINIONS HERE WHICH PLACES FNT SOMEWHERE ALG KHPN-KBDR-KGON LN...GIVE OR TAKE 10NM. WL MENT FG AND WDLY SCT TS ALL ZNS OVRNGT THO I THINK BEST TS CHCS ARE ALG/S OF FNT (CSTL CT/LI/NYC). W/ CONTD SOUPY AMS...WL KEEP LCLLY HVY DOWNPOUR WORDING IN ZFP AND HIER MAX QPFS IN RDF. MIN TEMPS FAIRLY CLS TO FWC GDNC. MON PRESENTS A FRTHR DELIMNA AS MDLS NOT IN AGREEMENT. AVN BRINGS WV THRU AREA WHICH WUD SUGGEST WASHOUT KINDA DAY...ETA HAS PCPN OUTTA HERE BY ERLY-MID AFTN. WL CARRY SCT AM SHRAS ALL ZNS W/ NO MENT ATTM DURG AFTN AS UPR SUPPORT GONE BY THEN. PSBL LT DAY PEEKS OF SUN BUT NOT ENUF TO KICK TEMPS UP A GRT DEAL...SO WENT ARND/SLGTLY BLO GDNC. LONGER TERM: REAL CDFNT FINALLY CLRS HUMID AMS OUT MON NITE. NO POPS MENTD FOR THIS PD AND TUE LOOKS MUCH BETTER THAN RECENT DAYS...WL FOLLOW PHIS LEAD AND MENT LESS HUMID FOR TUE. XTNDD: DAYS 3-5 RMN NRLY SAME AS PRVS PCKG W/ NXT CDFNT TO APCH ON FRI THO I HV KEPT TIMING SIMLR TO PRVS PCKGS (EVER SO SLGTLY SLOER THAN NCEP PROGS). FOR DAYS 6-7...HV OPTED TO KEEP DRY FOR NOW THO W/ ANTHR FNT PSBLY STALLING JUST S OF CWA...CAN SEE NEEDING CHC POP LTR ON. MARINE: CONTD QUIET W/ FLAGS LEFT IN STORAGE. WNDS/SEAS RMN BLO SCA CRIT FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. SCT TS AND VSBY RESTRICTIONS ONLY MAJOR CONCERNS THIS PCKG. WRK PRODUCTS AVBL BY AT/SLGTLY B4 1900Z. FINALS GONE ARND 1915Z. PRELIM CCF NMBRS FOR COORD BLO... FCSTID = 14 EWR 72 83 65 81 / 90 40 20 10 MGJ 67 80 61 77 / 80 40 20 10 DXR 68 79 61 78 / 80 50 20 20 NYC 72 81 67 81 / 90 50 20 10 ISP 70 79 66 79 / 90 50 20 20 GON 70 77 64 77 / 80 50 20 20 .OKX... CT...NONE. NJ...NONE. NY...NONE. MARINE...NONE. REYNOLDS
The radar
The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 92 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:31 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 Missouri, August 12, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, August 12, 2001
- Heat in Texas, August 12, 2001
- Wildfire in Oregon, August 12 to 27, 2001
- Flash Flooding in Mississippi, August 12, 2001
- Wildfire in Washington, August 12 to 31, 2001
- Hail in Nebraska, August 12, 2001
- Flash Flood in Tennessee, August 12 to 13, 2001
- Flash Flood in Tennessee, August 12, 2001
- Lightning Strike in New Jersey, August 12, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Arizona, August 12, 2001
- Flash Flooding in West Virginia, August 12, 2001
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, 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: 5265251.