Lightning, Strafford
- When
- August 18, 1:15 PM EST
- Where
- Strafford County, New Durham
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 43.297, -71.029 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in New Hampshire, August 18, 2002
A lightning strike ignited a fire that burned about 2 acres of woodland in the town of New Durham.
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
- 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 GYX wrote it up.
A lightning strike ignited a fire that burned about 2 acres of woodland in the town of New Durham.
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 Aug 18, 8:50 AM EST, 4 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 18, 8:50 AM EST, 4 hours 25 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAY ME 950 AM EDT SUN AUG 18 2002 UPDATED DISCUSSION... AGREE WITH UPDATED SPC CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK THAT BEST SUPPORT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL SHIFT NORTH OF GYX FORECAST AREA INTO QUEBEC WITH UPPER JET MAX. WILL KEEP ENHANCED THUNDERSTORM WORDING FOR GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN IN THE MOUNTAIN ZONES THIS AFTERNOON WHERE TERRAIN MAY HELP PRODUCE SOME ISOLATED SEVERE OTHERWISE WILL REMOVE ENHANCED THUNDERSTORM WORDING FOR THIS EVENING FROM CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN FORECAST ZONES. ALSO WILL SPEED UP TIMING OF FROPA AND ENDING OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS BASED ON 06Z AVN AND CURRENT SATELLITE AND SURFACE OBSERVATION TRENDS. WILL LOWER MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES FOR THIS AFTERNOON IN MOUNTAIN ZONES AND BUMP UP TEMPERATURES IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ZONES. SEVERAL LOCATIONS COULD REACH 90 OR A FEW DEGREES OVER AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON PARTICULARLY FRYEBURG...CONCORD AND PORTSMOUTH. PWMWRKZFP AVAILABLE FOR COORDINATION. NO SIGNIFICANT WINDS OR SEAS FOR THE COASTAL WATERS FORECAST. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION... ONE LAST STICKY DAY. DEWPTS COOLED TO THE 50S TO LWR 60S ACRS THE REGION LAST NGT BUT WL INCRS ONE LAST TIME TDA. DEWPTS IN THE UPR 60S UPSTRM WL MOVE BACK IN TDA. CDFNT PROGGED A BIT SLOWER THAN LAST NGT...TO CROSS THE MTNS LT THIS AFTN AND PASSING OFFSHR AFT MIDNT. STAB INDICES START TO RISE IN THE MTNS THIS AFTN AND PEAKS WTH THE FROPA THIS EVE. SRN SXNS WL SEE MOST TSTM ACTVTY AFTR DARK. INGREDIENTS ARE BORDERLINE FOR SEVERE WX BUT CANT RULE IT OUT...SPCLY JUST AHD OF THE FNT. HIGHEST THREAT SEEMS TO BE IN SRN NH THIS EVE. WL ISSUE AN SPS FOR THE POTENTIAL. BEHND THE FNT WE GET INTO THE LONG AWAITED RELIEF FRM THE HEAT AND HUMIDITY. BUT NOT BEFR SOME AREAS RECORD THEIR 8TH STRAIGHT DAY WTH 90 PLUS READINGS. LOOK FOR TEMPS TO DROP TO ARND 50 IN THE MTNS TNGT TO ARND 60 IN THE S. MON MAXES WL ONLY RISE TO ARND 80. A NEW WRINKLE FOR TUE. AN UPR TROF COMBINES WTH A LOW IN THE MIDWEST TO NOW BRNG SHWRS THRU THAT DAY...WTH THE AVN MOS SPIKING TO 70 PCT POPS. WL INTRODUCE A CHC OF SHWRS FOR TUE. HI PRES BLDS BAK IN TO BRING A NICE WED. FCSTID = 7 .GYX... ME...NONE. NH...NONE. WHEELER
The radar
The Portland,ME radar (KGYX), 91 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:12 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
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, August 18, 2002
- Flooding and Damaging Winds in Ohio, August 18, 2002
- Lightning Strikes in Virginia, August 18, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Wind in New Hampshire, August 18, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Colorado, August 18, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, August 18, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, August 18, 2002
- Flash Flood in Alabama, August 18, 2002
- Flash Flood in Missouri, August 18, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, August 18, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, August 18, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, August 18 to 20, 2002
More
Every storm in New Hampshire in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in New Hampshire, August 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: 5317287.