New York, 2002

Lightning Strike in New York, July 9, 2002

July 9, 2002 · NWS ALY · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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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  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
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  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
2
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 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 Albany, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 9, 10:00 AM EST, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 9, 10:00 AM EST, 2 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY
1100 AM EDT TUE JUL 09 2002

.DISC...MAIN FCST PROBLEM THIS AFTN WL BE EXTENT OF PCPN AND
CONVECTIVE POT.

SVR WX...SCT LTG ALREADY NOTED IN W NY AND W PA ALTHO OEVRALL
REFLECTVTYS NOT SPCLY IMPRSV.  FAIRLY WDSPRD CLDNS ALSO NOTED NW OF
A KBGM LN.  AS THE CLDNS SPREADS E SVR THREAT IN THOSE AREAS WL DMSH
IN CLOUDED AREAS.  THAT WUD LIMIT THREAT TO SE SXNS.  FAIRLY STG
WINDS ALF AS JET SAGS S.  THIS  ALSO PROVIDES DECENT UPR SUPPORT.
ETA CAPES AT 06Z/12Z LOOK WELL OVERDONE BASED ON FCST SFC DPTS 69-73
DPS  BUT MID 60S (PSBLY UPR 60S LOOK MORE REASONABLE).  FCST H8
FLOW ANEMIC ON 06Z ETA BUT 12Z RAOBS SHOW 20-30 KT AND 12Z ETA A LTL
MORE ROBUST BUT STILL ON ORDER OF 20-25 KTS FOR THIS AFTN.  DEPENDG
ON PARAMETERS INPUT LCL STUDY INDICATES NO SVR/OR MINOR SVR.  THUS
DONT EXPECT HUGE OUTBREAK BUT EXTRM S PTN CUD HAV A CPL EVENTS.  WL
ADD GUSTY WINDS TO S BUT NOT OVRHYPE AT THIS POINT.

WL UPDATE ZONES ADDG MORE CLOUDS...ADJUSTG TEMPS AND REMOVG OUTDATED
WORDG.

.HYDROLOGICAL STATUS...BASIN AVE QPF WL BE LOW...HVY RA WL BE
LIMITED AND ANY PROBLEMS WL BE LOCALIZED IN NATURE.

.ALY...NONE.

The radar

The Albany radar (KENX), 66 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:15 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Fulton

When
July 9, 12:15 PM EST to 1:15 PM EST
Where
Fulton County, Caroga Lake
Injuries
2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
43.114, -74.422 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

On the early afternoon of July 9, lightning struck a a tree at the Caroga Lake Campsite, in the town of Caroga Lake, Fulton County. The lightning took the bark off and traveling up through the roots as well as the surrounding blacktop. The current also ran through a child and his grandfather. The two individuals were thrown into the air and then fell to the ground. They were stunned and briefly paralyzed. Both vicitims were burned and admitted to the Westchester Medical Center in fair condition.

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 New York in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, 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: 5309071.