Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
3
Property damage
—
Area
Dutchess
Event narrative (NOAA)
Five people (four men and one woman) were struck by lightning in Mansion Square Park in Poughkeepsie during a thunderstorm. The five people were seated in park benches under a tree on the northern side of the park, when lightning struck the tree and traveled through the ground and into the benches. Three of the people were unresponsive immediately after the lightning strike and two would eventually die due to their injuries. Witnesses saw items burning near the people after the strike.
Other notable lightning events in New York
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database. Deaths and injuries are those NOAA classifies as direct. Damage is the reporting office's estimate at the time and is not inflation-adjusted. This is a catalogue record, not a forecast.