NEW YORK — Thursday, June 19, 2025 — A 15-year-old was struck by lightning during a severe thunderstorm that swept across Manhattan on Wednesday afternoon. The incident occurred around 3:30 p.m. along the East Drive in Central Park, near East 100th Street, according to the FDNY.
Authorities say the boy was found conscious, leaning against a metal fence after being hit. He had reportedly been standing beneath a tree when both he and the tree were hit by the same bolt of lightning.
The teen was quickly transported to Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where he is now reported to be in stable condition. Police confirmed he suffered neck injuries from the strike.
The incident happened just as New York City was placed under a severe thunderstorm warning, with powerful weather systems barreling through the Tri-State Area. The First Alert Weather Team had declared Thursday a First Alert Weather Day, signaling heightened storm activity and potential danger from lightning, strong winds, and flooding.
According to the National Weather Service, lightning strikes in the United States claim an average of 20 lives annually and cause injuries to hundreds more.
The sudden storm caught many residents off guard, particularly in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, where torrential rain left streets flooded and tree limbs scattered across sidewalks and cars.
In Maspeth, a neighborhood in Queens, residents awoke to scenes of destruction. Jose Rosas, returning home from work, found a tree collapsed onto his mother’s car. Throughout the area, sidewalks were littered with uprooted trees, one of which smashed the back window of a parked vehicle. Nearby, a utility pole had also been knocked over by strong winds.
Witnesses described the storm as fast and violent. Konrad Turnbull, a local resident, recalled, “The lights started flickering like in a horror movie, and then a tree branch came crashing down, ripping the roots out and smashing a truck outside our window.” Turnbull, who works remotely, said his building eventually lost power. “It’s probably going to take a few days. We’ll need to work from somewhere else,” he said.
As of this morning, cleanup efforts are underway across the affected boroughs. Emergency services remain on alert as unstable air masses and lingering moisture continue to threaten new storm development.
