High Voltage: Sensational Lightning Strikes Over the Hudson Valley

If you felt like you were being personally hunted by Zeus himself this morning, you're not alone. A staggering amount of lightning struck the Hudson Valley overnight and into the early morning hours. Here's where most of the electricity struck.

Hudson Valley, NY Lightning Storm

"That was a powerful storm earlier!! Be safe out there!!", said one Hudson Valley woman. "Pretty effective wake up alarm", said another. The storm, which is still dropping huge amounts of rain in many areas, lit up the dawn sky in the Hudson Valley, and as the map shows below, there were hundreds of strikes in just a few short hours.

Lightning Strikes in the Hudson Valley, NY

While the main clusters of lightning hit over Poughkeepsie, NY and the border of Massachusetts and Connecticut, there were still tons of activity on both sides of the Hudson River. The strikes near my house in Newburgh, NY came around 7am this morning, with the giant thunderclaps just milliseconds behind the intense lightning flashes. Nature showed us some interesting surprises when the storm passed, too.

"The drive in to work before sunrise was spectacular", said a Washingtonville, NY man. In Newburgh, birds flocked to backyards to feast on the worms escaping the waterlogged earth. My backyard in Newburgh (above) looked like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie, with hundreds of hungry beaks descending on our grass for a mega-buffet of creepy-crawlies.

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There's tons of impressive nature to experience in the Hudson Valley. Check out some of the best hiking options below, and keep scrolling to find the absolute best local stops for apple cider donuts while you drive to your next adventure.