I remember be very young and already having a strong interest in thunderstorms, severe weather and winter storms. However it was a storm in the summer of 1993 that really elevated my obsession. It was a sweltering hot day and I was at an indoor gym and pool in central Suffolk county Long Island. All the sudden a dark line of clouds with frequent cloud to ground lightning blew across the sky and flash bang lightning and thunder started. The pool was evacuated and I walked over to the windows and saw torrential rain, pea sized hail and very strong wind gusts. The light poles were swaying violently and the wind gusts were reportedly over 50 mph. Due to historical weather data I think I am able to narrow this storm down to Saturday, July 10, 1993. I remember the radar showing very isolated cells near nyc and central Long Island. Also I think remember the news saying someone on Long Island was struck by lightning in this storm. Unfortunately the historical radar data from GIS only goes back to 1995 so I can’t confirm the exact date for sure.
I know it’s a long shot but was wondering if anyone else here had any memory of this storm. Growing up on Long Island it was very frustrating getting severe storms due to the stabilizing marine influence, but this storm stuck out to me as short lived/isolated but very intense. I attended the Long Island philharmonic in heckscher Park that night with my family and I remember even the conductor mentioned the storm as being crazy.
Also please feel free to share details of any storm that sparked your interest in weather.