Lightning Strike in New York, July 4, 2001

Name: Lightning Strike in New York, July 4, 2001
Start: 2001-07-04T14:24
End: 2001-07-04T14:24
Location: New York

July 4, 2001 · NWS BUF · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A Boy Scout leader (age 48) and scout (age 15) were struck by lightning while target shooting. Both suffered burns and the young scout had to be resuscitated when he stopped breathing.

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.

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 3
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 BUF wrote it up.

A Boy Scout leader (age 48) and scout (age 15) were struck by lightning while target shooting. Both suffered burns and the young scout had to be resuscitated when he stopped breathing. A third scout (age 14), standing nearby, was also injured by the near lightning strike.

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 Buffalo, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 4, 1:59 PM EST, 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 1:59 PM EST, 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
259 PM EDT WED JUL 4 2001

THE LATEST SURFACE MAP AND VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGE SHOW THE COLD
FRONT MOVING THROUGH SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN. THE FRONT IS FORECAST TO
PUSH THROUGH WESTERN NEW YORK AROUND 00Z BEFORE CLEARING OUR EASTERN
LAKE ONTARIO COUNTIES AROUND 06Z.

THROUGHOUT THE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON...THE BULK OF THE
CONVECTION STAYED NORTH AND WEST OF OUR FA...BUT THUNDERSTORMS ARE
BECOMING BETTER ORGANIZED OVER THE WESTERN SOUTHERN TIER AND ACROSS
THE FINGER LAKES AREA WHERE THERE HAS BEEN MORE SUNSHINE.

I EXPECT THE CONVECTION TO FILL IN A BIT MORE THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING AS THE FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. THE STRONGEST
CONVECTION SHOULD BE CONFINED TO THE FINGER LAKES AND THE NORTH
COUNTRY WHERE THE DAYTIME HEATING HAS BEEN STRONGEST.
HOWEVER...ANOTHER LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS BECOMING ORGANIZED IN THE
SUNSHINE THAT DEVELOPED RIGHT AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT.
THEREFORE...SOME ORGANIZED CONVECTION IS STILL POSSIBLE ACROSS
WESTERN NEW YORK WITH THE FRONTAL PASSAGE.

AFTER THE FRONT CLEARS OUR FA EARLY TONIGHT...THE SKIES WILL CLEAR
OUT FROM WEST TO EAST AS NOTICEABLY DRIER AIR (DEWPOINTS IN 40S
ACROSS UPPER MICHIGAN) WORKS ITS WAY INTO THE AREA.

THURSDAY WILL START OUR MOSTLY SUNNY ACROSS THE ENTIRE FA. THE
COMBINATION OF A LITTLE WRAP AROUND MOISTURE AND THE COLDER
TEMPERATURES ASSOCIATED WITH THE CLOSED UPPER LOW WILL GENERATE A FEW
MORE AFTERNOON CLOUDS ACROSS THE FINGER LAKES AND THE NORTH COUNTRY.

MORE SUNSHINE IS IN STORE FOR FRIDAY BEFORE MODERATELY STRONG WARM
AIR ADVECTION BRINGS A CHANCE OF SHOWERS ON SATURDAY.

.BUF...NONE.

The radar

The Buffalo radar (KBUF), 118 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:21 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Ontario

When: July 4, 2:24 PM EST
Where: Ontario County, Phelps
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 42.853, -77.300 (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 York in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in New York, July 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: 5258985.