Lightning Strike in New York, October 21, 2001

Name: Lightning Strike in New York, October 21, 2001
Start: 2001-10-21T17:00
End: 2001-10-21T17:00
Location: New York

October 21, 2001 · NWS BUF · 1 event in 1 county or zone

In Churchville, Monroe county, a woman was injured when lightning struck a transformer, sending a surge of electricity into her house where she was working at a computer.

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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Heat and drought
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
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.

In Churchville, Monroe county, a woman was injured when lightning struck a transformer, sending a surge of electricity into her house where she was working at a computer.

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 Oct 21, 1:27 PM EST, 3 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 21, 1:27 PM EST, 3 hours 33 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
227 PM EDT SUN OCT 21 2001

STRONG LOW LEVEL THERMAL AND MOISTURE ADVECTION AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT
HAS DEVELOPED INTO A BROKEN LINE OF CONVECTION FROM NORTHERN OHIO TO
EASTERN LAKE ERIE AND SOUTHERN ONTARIO. THIS WILL SWEEP ACROSS MUCH
OF THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH THE EVENING AND SHOULD CLEAR THE REGION
BY MIDNIGHT. WILL MAINTAIN LIKELY POPS FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
AND BRIEF DOWNPOURS ARE EXPECTED AS THE LAYER WILL BE NEARLY
SATURATED TO 20KFT.

A SURFACE RIDGE WILL BUILD BACK ACROSS THE REGION ON MONDAY BUT THERE
WILL BE ENOUGH MOISTURE ALOFT TO RESULT IN ONLY PARTLY SUNNY SKIES.
ANOTHER STRONGER SERIES OF VORTS WILL APPROACH THE AREA ON TUESDAY
AND A STRONGER LOW LEVEL JET OF 60KT+ WILL BRING MORE PRECIP TO THE
REGION. THE WARM ADVECTION WILL BE MUCH STRONGER ON TUESDAY AS WELL
WITH TEMPS RISING TO THE MID OR UPPER 60S. THERE WILL NOT BE MUCH OF
A COLD FRONT TUESDAY NIGHT AS THE BOUNDARY WILL STALL JUST WEST AND
NORTH OF THE REGION...LEAVING US IN THE MILDER SECTOR UNTIL THE THIRD
AND SUCCESSIVELY STRONGER SYSTEM ON THURSDAY BRINGS THE BEGINNINGS OF
AN ARCTIC OUTBREAK...POISED TO COVER THE AREA BY THE END OF THE WEEK.

GUIDANCE TEMPS LOOK CLOSE ON FWC/MAV/FAN FOR MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY
BUT ILL GO WITH THE MILDER LOW TEMPS TONIGHT  ON FWC GUIDANCE AS
THERE WONT BE MUCH COOLING BEHIND THIS FRONT.

.BUF...NONE.

HIBBERT

In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 21, 4:35 PM EST, 25 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO, NY
535 PM EDT SUN OCT 21 2001

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0422 PM    LAKEWOOD                  NY   WIND DAMAGE
10/21/01   CHAUTAUQUA                     LARGE TREE LIMB AND WIRE
                                          FELL ON HOUSE REPORTED BY
                                          LAW ENFORCEMENT

0454 PM    ELLICOTTVILLE             NY   1.00 INCH HAIL
10/21/01   CATTARAUGUS                    REPORTED BY AMATEUR RADIO

JJP

The radar

The Buffalo radar (KBUF), 93 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Monroe

When: October 21, 5:00 PM EST
Where: Monroe County, Churchville
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 43.165, -77.636 (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, October 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: 5271789.