Lightning Strike in New Jersey, June 24, 2002

Name: Lightning Strike in New Jersey, June 24, 2002
Start: 2002-06-24T15:35
End: 2002-06-24T15:35
Location: New Jersey

June 24, 2002 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lightning struck a home in Hainesport during the afternoon of the 24th. The subsequent fire damaged the front of the first floor and the basement and rendered the house uninhabitable.

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: $50,000
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 PHI wrote it up.

Lightning struck a home in Hainesport during the afternoon of the 24th. The subsequent fire damaged the front of the first floor and the basement and rendered the house uninhabitable. No serious injuries were reported.

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 Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 24, 2:20 PM EST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 24, 2:20 PM EST, 1 hour 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ...ISSUED BY NWS WASHINGTON
DC/BALTIMORE
320 PM EDT MON JUN 24 2002

UPDATED DSCN FOR TWO THINGS...SPOKE WITH SPC. THEY DO NOT PLAN TO
ISSUE A WATCH FOR THE PHL AREA. CELLS ARE PULSING UP AND DOWN...LACK
OF SHEAR MEANS THAT ORGANIZED CONVTN IS UNLIKELY. ALSO..PHI JUST
CALLED ME ABOUT HEAT ADVSRY..AREA HAS NOT BEEN REACHING CRITICAL
VALUES TDA..AND ALTHO VERY WARM A SIMILAR ENVIRONMENT WL BE IN PLACE
FOR TMRW...SO AM DROPPING HEADLINE OF XSCV HEAT FOR TUE.

RMNDR OF 300 PM DSCN...

LOOKS LIKE AN ACTIVE PD OF WX FOR NJ/ERN PA OVR THE NEXT SVRL DAYS.
BNDRY LIES IN SVRL DIFFERENT LOCATIONS ACROSS THE AREA TNGT THRU TUE
NGT B4 CONTINUING INTO NEW ENGLAND ON WED. PLAN IS TO CONTINUE W/
CHC OF TRW THROUGH TUE NGT. AS MENTIONED THIS MRNG TSTMS MAY BE
SVR...FEELING IS ONES THAT DO DVLP HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME VERY
HVY RAIN PRODUCERS W/ PULSE SVR.

CHC OF CONVECTION CONTINUES INTO THE EVNG..THEN OVRNGT WL BE VRY
WARM/HUMID W/ LOWS ONLY GETTING INTO L70S IN MANY LOCALES. HZ/FG WL
DVLP OVRNGT. ON TUE TEMPS WL AGN CLIMB INTO L90S W/ DWPTS IN L70S.
BUFKIT SHOWS A PD OF CAPES OVR 1000 TUE AFTN. WIND FIELD REMAINS
XTRMLY LGT - CELLS THAT DO DVLP COULD AGN BE VRY HEAVY RAINERS.

THINK WED COULD BE AN IN BETWEEN DAY AS WARM FNT MVS N OF
AREA..BUT UPR TROF/NEXT CD FNT WELL BACK OVR UPR MIDWEST. WEVE
MOVED INTO THE HEAT OF SUMMER...AND IN HEAT/HUMIDITY ISOLD CELLS
COULD FORM..BUT WOULD PREFER TO REFRAIN FM POPS ON WED. TEMPS ONCE
AGAIN INTO LM90S. SUSPECT WED MAY NEED HEAT ADVSRY AS WELL.

THU LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER DAY OF CONVECTION...PSBLY BETTER ORGANIZED AS
NEXT FNT APRCHS PA. THEN HIGH BUILDS OVR AREA FOR THE WKND.

.PHI...
DE...NONE.
MD...NONE.
NJ...NONE.
PA...NONE.
MARINE...NONE.

GIGILISI

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 23 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:33 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Burlington

When: June 24, 3:35 PM EST
Where: Burlington County, Hainesport
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 39.878, -74.668 (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 Jersey in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, June 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: 5308123.