Lightning Strike Knocks Out Power in Brooklyn

A lightning strike in Flatbush left about 4,500 Con Edison customers in Central Brooklyn without electricity and disabled traffic signals.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Severe Weather

Lightning Strike Knocks Out Power in Brooklyn

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A lightning strike fried a power grid in Flatbush, Brooklyn, knocking out power to about 4,500 Con Edison customers in Central Brooklyn. The strike also knocked out traffic signals at affected intersections.

Why it matters

The outage affects most of Flatbush and disrupts daily life for New York City residents in the area, including schools that the city is supporting with power generators. Traffic management at affected intersections is underway while power is restored.

Con Edison reported about 4,500 customers in Central Brooklyn without power following the lightning strike. The source does not specify when service will be fully restored.

The players

Con Edison

Con Edison is the primary utility serving New York City and surrounding areas, responsible for electricity distribution across the region.

Office of Emergency Management

The New York City Office of Emergency Management coordinates the city's emergency response, including public warnings and resource deployment during incidents like this outage.

The details

Con Edison is working to restore power after the lightning strike damaged the grid in Flatbush. The city is supporting affected schools with power generators and managing traffic at the intersections where signals went dark.

November 6, 2026: The Office of Emergency Management announced the outage and traffic warnings.

Seasonal Patterns

Lightning-caused grid failures in dense urban areas like Flatbush illustrate how summer thunderstorm activity in New York City can disrupt the electrical infrastructure that serves thousands of households at once. The incident highlights how weather-driven outages intersect with the city's aging distribution network.

Residents in affected parts of Flatbush should treat intersections with dark signals as four-way stops and approach them with caution. Households without power should monitor official Con Edison updates for restoration progress.

The takeaway

Weather-related grid failures can knock out essential services across a neighborhood within minutes, so residents should keep flashlights and battery backups on hand during thunderstorm season. Monitoring official outage maps helps households plan around restoration timelines.