Overview

• At around 3:45 p.m. Thursday, a bolt of lightning hit near 101st Street and Fifth Avenue where the teen was sheltering under a tree.
• Officials say the metal chain the 15-year-old was wearing conducted the electrical current to his body, and he was treated for burns before being admitted in stable condition.
• The severe thunderstorm watches for New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. have expired after warnings of hail, damaging winds and continuous lightning.
• The storm grounded flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and delayed incoming flights at John F. Kennedy International Airport by an average of two and a half hours.
• The National Weather Service reports about 25 million U.S. lightning strikes annually and urges everyone to seek sturdy shelter at the first sound of thunder.