52
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$521K
Property damage
Lightning in Bergen County, New Jersey: 52 recorded events between 1996 and 2023. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #36 nationally and #3 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Bergen County, New Jersey: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Bergen County is the 2010s, when 22 of the county's 52 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Bergen County archive, lightning makes up 5.8% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #36 for this hazard and #3 within New Jersey, putting it in the 98.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for lightning in Bergen County with 14 recorded events, while Feb is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22, 2006 | MONTVALE | 0 | 2 | 2 | $0 |
| Sep 7, 2012 | DEMAREST | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 3, 2018 | RAMSEY | 0 | 0 | 1 | $6K |
| Aug 14, 2005 | DUMONT | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 29, 2001 | HACKENSACK | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 31, 1996 | PALISADES PARK | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 9, 2023 | WESTWOOD | 0 | $5K |
| Jul 18, 2022 | PARK RIDGE | 0 | $15K |
| Jul 18, 2022 | RIVER EDGE | 0 | $15K |
| Jul 12, 2021 | WORTENDYKE | 0 | $6K |
| Aug 7, 2019 | PARK RIDGE | 0 | $6K |
| Jul 22, 2019 | ALLENDALE | 0 | $6K |
| Apr 26, 2019 | CAMPGAW | 0 | $2K |
| Apr 15, 2019 | LYNDHURST | 0 | $15K |
| Oct 3, 2018 | HAWORTH | 0 | $8K |
| Oct 3, 2018 | RAMSEY | 0 | $6K |
Other hazards here
More from Bergen County
- Thunderstorm Wind 352
- Flash Flood 269
- Flood 107
- Hail 82
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
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.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Bergen County, New Jersey?
52 lightning events are recorded in Bergen County between 1996 and 2023, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Bergen County?
The strongest lightning on record in Bergen County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Bergen County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Lightning in Bergen County, New Jersey.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-jersey/bergen-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.