Lightning Strike in Maine, July 2, 2002

Name: Lightning Strike in Maine, July 2, 2002
Start: 2002-07-02T07:00
End: 2002-07-02T07:00
Location: Maine

July 2, 2002 · NWS GYX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lightning struck a house in the town of New Vineyard and the resulting fire burned it to the ground. The unoccupied house was very old and small and valued at $2500 by the town.

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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $3,000
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.

Lightning struck a house in the town of New Vineyard and the resulting fire burned it to the ground. The unoccupied house was very old and small and valued at $2500 by the town.

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 Jul 2, 1:40 AM EST, 5 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 2, 1:40 AM EST, 5 hours 20 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME
240 AM EDT TUE JUL 2 2002

WK IMPULSE DRIFTING SSEWD TWD NRN ME WITH CLUSTER OF TSTMS MOVG
SWD.  APPEARS MOST OF THIS ACTION WILL STAY E OF OUR FA THIS MRNG
BUT WILL MONITOR IT CLOSELY.  OTRW FOR TODAY 3H WX WITH AFTN TSTMS
PSBL AS LIS REMAIN LO/HI DEWPS BUT DUE TO LACK OF ANY MECHANISM
AFTN TSTMS WILL BE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN...UNLESS SOME MINOR
INTERACTION WITH UNFORESEEN IMPULSE ALFT DVLPS.  WITH WLY SFC FLO
TEMPS ALG MUCH OF CST TO BE AS HOT IF NOT HOTTER THAN INLAND AREAS
NEXT 2 DAYS...XCPT ALG MID COAST WHR TRAJ OF WINDS MAY KEEP THE CST
A LTL COOLER.  LOOKS LIKE 4TH OF JULY CUD SEE SOME NATURAL FIREWORKS
IN THE AFTN AND EVNG AS TIMG OF CDFNT ATTM LOOKS TO COME THRU FA
DURG THU AFTN.  THINGS RETURN TO MORE SEASOANL TEMPS FOR THE WEEKEND
AS HIGH PRES RULES AND A RETURN TO DRY CONDS.

MARINE: CONDS TO BE QUIET AND WILL ADVERTISE THE LGT SW FLO TO GRDLY
BCM WLY WITH TIME.

.GYX...
ME...NONE.
NH...NONE.

The radar

The Portland,ME radar (KGYX), 121 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:02 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Franklin

When: July 2, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Franklin County, New Vineyard
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 44.974, -70.444 (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 Maine in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Maine, July 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: 5309615.