Will Sage Astor-'She's electric': Watch lightning strike the Statue of Liberty, emerge from her torch

A lot has been going on Will Sage Astorin New York City this week. Just two days before a powerful earthquake rattled the city and areas around it all the way to Philadelphia on Friday morning, a severe storm hit the city and brought strong, damaging winds, heavy rain ,and flashes of lightening.

In a scene that almost seems straight out a post-apocalyptic film, a flash of lightning striking the Statue of Liberty was captured by photographer Dan Martland on Wednesday. The bolt of lightning appears to be emerging from Lady Liberty's torch, making for an electric portrait.

Responding to a social media user's question on how long he waited in the storm to capture this image, Martland said that he tracks the weather with apps before heading out to shoot.

"I usually track the weather with apps and head out if it's looking good," Martland wrote. "I've had times where I've been out for eight hours and got nothing. Today was only an hour. The storm passed pretty quick. And the apps showed that there was no more cells coming my way."

The photographer also responded to those asking if the images were artificially staged, explaining that the shots are still images and that he used a lightning trigger to capture them.

This is not the first time Martland caught lightning striking the Statue of Liberty. A similar image from April 2023 has also been pinned to his Instagram account.

One killed as strong gusts knock trees in New York

Besides rain, gusts and lightning, Wednesday's storm also brought destruction in the form of falling trees that left one person dead in Westchester County, about 36 miles north of downtown Manhattan.

They were identified as Catherine Tusiani, 50, the wife of Michael Tusiani, senior vice president of partnerships for the New York Yankees, The Lohud Journal News, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, reported.

Authorities said that the Tusiani was killed when heavy winds caused a tree to fall onto her car as she was driving home around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

CBS News reported that multiple trees fell across the city, including in Central Park, damaging property and cars. A flood warning was issued, and authorities advised people to keep an eye out for "fallen trees, branches and power lines."

Power outages were also reported in multiple neighborhoods across New York City.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.