The odds of being struck by lightning is less than one in a million in a given year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. But people have died from lightning strikes in New Jersey before. In June 2024, a Manchester man was killed in Seaside Park.

The bolt struck local archers and a boy scout troop in New Jersey, killing one man and injuring at least 13 other people. Friends of the victims said the strike had come out of nowhere.