New Jersey lightning
Every recorded lightning record since 1996 · 21 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 632 lightning records in New Jersey from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 22 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the July 22, 2006 lightning in Bergen County: 2 deaths and 2 injuries. New Jersey ranks 7th of 52 states and territories by count and 1st of 51 per square mile.
Lightning in New Jersey, 1996 to 2026
Lightning records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 6321996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 22average
- Deaths
- 24200 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $34Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 200159 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are lightning records common in New Jersey?
New Jersey averages about 22 lightning records a year since 2000, 7th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2001 (59). Per 10,000 square miles of land, New Jersey records 859 lightning records since 1996, 1st of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in New Jersey have the most lightning records?
Per square mile, Bergen County leads New Jersey: 40 days with a lightning record since 1996, 171.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Ocean County has the most lightning records (78 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the lightning season in New Jersey?
54% of its lightning records since 1996 fell in July and August. The busiest month is July (185 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 2 · Feb 1 · Mar 8 · Apr 32 · May 68 · Jun 129 · Jul 185 · Aug 157 · Sep 35 · Oct 8 · Nov 2 · Dec 5 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest lightning records in New Jersey?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07-22 | LightningMontvale, Bergen County Two teenagers were killed and two were injured when they were struck by lightning at Memorial Field in Montvale.The teens were playing soccer and were struck by lightning as they ran off the field during a heavy down pour. They suffered severe burns and trauma. | 2 | 2 | – | |
| 2025-07-16 | LightningJackson, Ocean County There was 1 fatality and 14 injuries reported at an archery range in Jackson Township due to a lightning strike. | 1 | 14 | – | |
| 1999-08-14 | LightningAtsion, Burlington County A cluster of thunderstorms that moved through Southern New Jersey during the early morning hours of the 14th was a prolific lightning producer. A 42-year-old man was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was camping with his girlfriend and her four children when lightning struck and split a 65 foot pitch pine near ... | 1 | 6 | – | |
| 2021-08-30 | LightningSeaside Park, Ocean County Seven individuals were struck by lightning in South Seaside Park, with one fatality. | 1 | 6 | – | |
| 1998-05-03 | LightningWhiting, Ocean County Lightning apparently struck a tree, traveled along the saturated ground, entered a tent and killed a 22-year-old National Guardsman during a routine artillery training weekend at McGuire Air Force Base. The lightning also injured five others, two critcially and one seriously. A medic was also injured while trying to ... | 1 | 5 | – | |
| 2008-07-27 | LightningAtlantic Highlands, Monmouth County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong cold frontal passage triggered severe thunderstorms across New Jersey on the afternoon of the 27th. | 1 | 4 | – | |
| 2010-07-19 | LightningWest Keansburg, Monmouth County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. A lee side trough coupled with an upper air disturbance triggered and maintained a line of strong to locally severe thunderstorms across central and southern New Jersey during the morning of the 19th. Widely scattered thunderstorms also developed preceding an approaching cold front during the evening of the 19th. | 1 | 3 | $34K | |
| 2009-07-26 | LightningNewark Hgts, Essex County Lightning struck 4 persons under a tree outside the Ivy Hill Apartments on Mount Vernon Place, killing one and injuring 3 others. | 1 | 3 | $1K | |
| 2011-09-15 | LightningAtlantic City, Atlantic County A 40-year-old male construction worker was killed and two others were injured after they were struck by lightning while working on the Revel Casino Project in Atlantic City off of Connecticut Avenue. They were pouring concrete on the 7th floor when the bucket lift they were using was struck by lightning. | 1 | 2 | – | |
| 2011-07-03 | LightningHammonton, Atlantic County A 54-year-old male was struck and killed by lightning while ducking under a tree during a thunderstorm to light a cigar in Hammonton. In 1963, the man's father was also struck and killed by lightning. A 38 year-old male cousin was seriously injured by the same lightning strike. The man felt a blast and remembered ... | 1 | 1 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest lightning records in New Jersey
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-08-15 | LightningHaskell, Passaic County | 0 | 0 | $10M | |
| 2009-07-26 | LightningFranklin Park, Somerset County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 2 | $2.1M | |
| 2006-06-01 | LightningCountywide, Burlington County | 0 | 0 | $1.5M | |
| 2008-06-29 | LightningSweetwater, Atlantic County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 2 | $1.4M | |
| 2012-06-25 | LightningGordons Corner, Monmouth County | 0 | 0 | $1.3M | |
| 2014-07-02 | LightningEast Windsor, Mercer County | 0 | 1 | $1.2M | |
| 2001-08-27 | LightningImlaystown, Monmouth County | 0 | 0 | $833K | |
| 2008-07-23 | LightningWillingboro, Burlington County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 2 | $822K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are lightning records becoming more frequent in New Jersey?
New Jersey's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | New Jersey | United States | New Jersey's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 65 | 3,521 | 1.8% |
| 2000s | 339 | 8,052 | 4.2% |
| 2010s | 197 | 5,103 | 3.9% |
| 2020-26 | 31 | 1,544 | 2.0% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent lightning records in New Jersey
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-08-17 | LightningFlorham Park, Morris County | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2025-08-13 | LightningElizabeth, Union County | 0 | 0 | $3K | |
| 2025-08-13 | LightningKenilworth, Union County | 0 | 0 | $5K | |
| 2025-07-16 | LightningJackson, Ocean County | 1 | 14 | – | |
| 2025-07-08 | LightningHardystonville, Sussex County | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-01 | LightningLakewood Airport, Ocean County | 0 | 0 | $10K | |
| 2025-07-01 | LightningLakewood Airport, Ocean County | 0 | 0 | $10K | |
| 2025-06-19 | LightningMaplewood, Essex County | 0 | 0 | $10K | |
| 2024-06-23 | LightningSeaside Hgts, Ocean County | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2023-06-25 | LightningCranford, Union County | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2023-06-14 | LightningMenlo Park, Middlesex County | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2021-08-30 | LightningSeaside Park, Ocean County | 1 | 6 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Next
- Bergen County: the county's whole recordThe New Jersey county with the most lightning records per square mile
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