Lightning in Dutchess County, New York

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.

A very warm and humid air mass was in place over eastern New York on Friday, August 12th. Daytime temperatures were well into the 90s and dewpoints reached into the low to mid 70s. As a result, heat index values reached 100 to 105 degrees for valley areas. Some cooling centers were opened across parts of the region as a result of the excessive heat.

With the warm and humid air mass in place, scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours. Although these thunderstorms had little upper level support, a few of the storms became severe, producing damaging wind gusts to trees and power lines. In addition, one of the thunderstorms produced a cloud to ground lightning strike, which struck a group of five people under a tree in a park in Poughkeepsie. Two of the people died as a result of their injuries.