While many in New York City fought through the rain to see the ball drop in Times Square, there was another great sight in the Big Apple. As footage from around social media on Tuesday night shows, a lightning bolt struck the famous Empire State Building on New Year’s Eve.
Among those who captured the footage on-camera was the YouTube channel Walks & Wall Street. The account livestreams walking tours of NYC areas at various points of the year and happened to be filming the Empire State Building as the lightning strike occurred. You can watch the stream highlight below.
Videos by PopCulture.com
While it is an interesting sight, it is not unprecedented — as some around social media are claiming. The Empire State Building gets hit by lightning fairly often. For example, Getty Images has documented lightning striking the structure during a thunderstorm on May 29, 2024, and April 22, 2023.
New York City New’s Years Ball Drop 2025
While the rain dampened spirits in Times Square, the ball drop still went down as usual. CNN and other TV networks documented the occasion. You can watch footage of the moment below.
Happy New Year from all of us here at PopCulture.com! We’ll be here covering the latest in entertainment and trending news in 2025 and beyond!
Most Viewed
-
NBC's 'Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade' Key Art (Photo by: NBCUniversal) -
Pictured: (l-r) Taylor Kinney as Kelly Severide, David Eigenberg as Christopher Herrmann, Christian Stolte as Randy McHolland — (Photo by: Peter Gordon/NBC) -
PARIS, FRANCE – SEPTEMBER 11: In this photo illustration, the Apple TV Plus logo is displayed on an iPhone screen on September 11, 2019 in Paris, France. Yesterday, the US multinational Apple announced at its keynote launch its video on demand web television entitled Apple TV Plus. video streaming service Apple TV + will be available from November 1, 2019 in France and in a hundred countries at a rate of 4.99 euros per month. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
