Lightning strikes Washington Monument, video goes viral
Washington Monument closed after lightning strike
(Web Desk) - The Washington Monument was closed Monday and is expected to remain closed Tuesday after being struck by lightning over the weekend.
Officials with the National Park Service said in a Twitter message that the popular tourist site was closed “as we repair damage to the electronic access system caused by lightning strike.”
— National Mall NPS (@NationalMallNPS) August 16, 2021
Mike Litterst, a spokesman for the National Park Service, said Monday that the lightning hit about 12:30 a.m. Sunday and that no one was hurt.
Crews were working to fix the electrical system and hoped to resolve the issue so the monument could reopen Tuesday, he said.
Litterst said the monument regularly gets struck by lightning, especially in the summer, when there are storms. An analysis by The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang in June 2020 found that lightning hits the monument up to a couple of times per year on average but that numbers vary summer to summer.
