Orchard Beach is situated on the western end of Long Island Sound. Police closed the beach for safety reasons. It is not a common fact to be struck by lightning, as the statistics reveal as possible 1 in 1.9 million. This was a strong storm and the National Weather Service prompted organizers to cancel the remaining Sunday performances at the Electric Zoo music festival on nearby Randalls Island. At the same time, a temporary suspension of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Queens. Labor Day weekend celebrations were already interrupted due to weather. In East Orange, roads were flooded. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports reported long delays as a result of the storm. It was not very clear why the three victims still were on the beach on the time of storm.
