64
Recorded events
7
Direct deaths
13
Direct injuries
$2.4M
Property damage
Lightning in Monmouth County, New Jersey: 64 recorded events between 1997 and 2016. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #19 nationally and #2 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Monmouth County, New Jersey: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Monmouth County is the 2000s, when 33 of the county's 64 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 Monmouth County archive, lightning makes up 8.8% of all recorded severe weather across 12 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #19 for this hazard and #2 within New Jersey, putting it in the 99.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Aug is the peak month for lightning in Monmouth County with 22 recorded events, while Jan 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 20, 2010 | WEST KEANSBURG | 0 | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 27, 2008 | ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS | 0 | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Aug 15, 2012 | WEST END | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 7, 2012 | MONMOUTH BEACH | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 18, 2007 | HOWELL | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 2002 | BRADLEY BEACH | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 1, 1997 | TINTON FALLS | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 2008 | COLTS NECK | 0 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 16, 2016 | MANALAPAN | 0 | $5K |
| Jul 15, 2014 | NEPTUNE | 0 | $5K |
| Jul 14, 2014 | MANASQUAN | 0 | $5K |
| Jul 14, 2014 | SPRING LAKE HGTS | 0 | $5K |
| Aug 13, 2013 | MANASQUAN | 0 | $10K |
| Aug 15, 2012 | WEST END | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 6, 2012 | SPRING LAKE | 0 | $5K |
| Jul 7, 2012 | MONMOUTH BEACH | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 25, 2012 | ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS | 0 | $5K |
| Jun 25, 2012 | GORDONS CORNER | 0 | $1.0M |
Other hazards here
More from Monmouth County
- Thunderstorm Wind 385
- Flash Flood 91
- Hail 78
- Heavy Rain 48
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 49-year-old man was struck and killed by lightning on Linden Avenue in Middletown while in contact with a tree and observing a house fire that was started by a previous lightning strike. A 54-year-old man and a police officer were also injured by the same lightning strike.
Lightning struck and killed a 38-year-old male and injured his two companions while they were walking on the beach at the Gateway recreation area in Sandy Hook. They were on Beach Area B when they were struck. An injured male and female were both in stable condition at a local hospital.
A lightning strike and subsequent fire and water damage destroyed eight units of the Covered Bridge Condominium Complex on Amberly Drive in Manalapan Township. About ten people were displaced. No injuries were reported..
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Monmouth County, New Jersey?
64 lightning events are recorded in Monmouth County between 1997 and 2016, causing 7 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Monmouth County?
The strongest lightning on record in Monmouth County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Monmouth 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 Monmouth County, New Jersey.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-jersey/monmouth-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.