Maine, 2002

Lightning Strike in Maine, April 13, 2002

April 13, 2002 · NWS GYX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A pair of lightning bolts from a thunderstorm damaged two buildings in Rockland. The first struck a corner store and caused an estimated $2500 in damage when a wire on the roof shorted out and ignited some of the siding on the exterior wall.

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
$23,000
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 GYX wrote it up.

A pair of lightning bolts from a thunderstorm damaged two buildings in Rockland. The first struck a corner store and caused an estimated $2500 in damage when a wire on the roof shorted out and ignited some of the siding on the exterior wall. The second incident occurred at the Elks Lodge where lightning struck a flag pole and traveled into the building. The bolt blasted mud from the ground, broke a window, took a piece of the foundation out, tore bricks off the outside chimney, and destroyed all security monitors, the telephones, and a fire alarm system. Damage was estimated at $20,000.

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 Apr 13, 1:10 PM EST, 6 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 13, 1:10 PM EST, 6 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
210 PM EDT SAT APR 13 2002

ZONES...
WILL PUT UP A FLOOD WATCH FOR NORTHERN/WESTERN NH AND ALL BUT
COASTAL AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST MAINE FOR TONIGHT AND SUNDAY.  MODELS
HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT ON BRINGING OVER AN INCH OF RAIN TO THE AREA
TONIGHT...WITH A MAX OF 1 1/2 TO 2 INCHES POSSIBLE.

RFC GUIDANCE SHOWS CONNECTICUT AND PEMIGEWASSET RIVERS IN NH COULD
GO OVER FLOOD WITH THIS QPF PLUS SNOW MELT /STILL SEVERAL INCHES OF
RIPE SNOWPACK IN NORTHERN NH/.  IN WESTERN MAINE THE GUIDANCE BRINGS
RIVERS UP...BUT NOT QUITE TO FLOOD WITH ANTICIPATED QPF/SNOWMELT.

ALSO...TRIBUTARITIES WILL SWELL AND COULD REACH BANKFUL...OR
POSSIBLY LEAD TO SOME MINOR FLOODING.  SO FLOOD WATCH WILL BE ALL
INCLUSIVE...GAGED AND NON-GAGED RIVERS AND STREAMS.

OTHERWISE PARTIAL CLEARING ON SUNDAY AS MODELS NOW GIVING VERY LOW
POPS.  THEN A WEAK UPPER LEVEL IMPULSE AND RH MOVE THROUGH SUNDAY
NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.  A RETURN TO DRY
AND VERY MILD WEATHER FOR LATE MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.  NEXT CHANCE
OF PCPN PER MRF MODEL IS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY.

GENERALLY GOING WITH A COMPROMISE OF AVN MAV AND NGM FWC POPS/TEMPS
...THOUGH DID GO WITH 100 PCT POP FOR TONIGHT...THROUGH MONDAY.
USED MRF MEX NUMBERS AS MAIN INPUT TO OUTLOOK PERIOD OF FORECAST.

CWF...
WILL CONTINUE THE SCA FOR TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY FOR SEAS.  PWMWRKCWF
AVBL IN AWIPS FOR COORDINATION PURPOSES.

FCSTID = 2

.GYX...
ME...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND SUNDAY FOR ZONES
     MEZ007>009...MEZ012>014...MEZ020>021.
  ...SCA.

NH...FLOOD WATCH FOR TONIGHT AND SUNDAY FOR ZONES
     NHZ001>005...NHZ007.
  ...SCA.

SJC

The radar

The Portland,ME radar (KGYX), 93 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:55 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Knox

When
April 13, 7:55 PM EST to 8:05 PM EST
Where
Knox County, Rockland
Property damage
$23,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
44.076, -69.126 (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

More

Every storm in Maine in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Maine, April 2002

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: 5293210.