A teenager suffered burns to his neck after being struck by lightning in Central Park as he sheltered beneath a tree during a freak thunderstorm in New York.  

The abrupt change of weather caught residents off-guard Thursday afternoon when the skies quickly turned, bringing torrential rain with roaring thunder and bright lightning bolts striking across the city.  

The 15-year-old teen, who was near 101st Street and Fifth Avenue, was standing under a tree when a bolt struck around 3:40 pm, the FDNY told CBS News.

According to police, the electric current was transferred from the tree to a metal chain the boy was wearing around his neck.

‘We found him sitting on the path right there,’ a police officer told The Daily News. ‘He was still conscious. He’s lucky to be alive.’

The boy was transported to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he remains in stable condition. 

His name has not been released.

The area near the terrifying strike was roped off with yellow police tape for about an hour as rain continued to pour over the park 

The lightning’s electric current moved from a tree to the boy’s metal chain around his neck as he stood in Central Park on Thursday afternoon 

The boy was transported to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he remains in stable condition. His identity has not been released

Crystal Mateo, 17, was walking nearby when the lightning struck. She witnessed the teen collapse immediately after the flash. 

‘It was scary,’ Mateo told The New York Times. ‘I was crying.’

Near where the 17-year-old had seen the boy stands a towering elm, about 75 feet tall, Mateo said, explaining that its base was littered with abandoned water bottles, cookie packages, and a volleyball – suggesting a picnic interrupted by the storm.

The area near the terrifying strike was roped off with yellow police tape for about an hour as rain continued to pour over the park, The New York Times reported.

The storm, which quickly intensified, prompted the National Weather Service to issue a severe thunderstorm warning for the city. 

‘This thunderstorm that is passing through NYC is ferocious babyyyyy! Shelter in place y’all! So glad I am not driving right now!’ one user posted on X. 

‘This thunderstorm hitting New York is insane!’ another wrote. 

Another chimed in writing, ‘Cluster of strong storms came through with torrential rain, gusty winds, thunder & lightning. 0.38” rain fell in less than 15 minutes!’

Just hours after the unexpected bolt, around 5:15 pm, the storm had passed, and the sun was out again, with people walking dogs in the park.

Though lightning strikes are rare in New York City, experts warn they remain a serious threat during sudden storms like the one Thursday afternoon. 

‘I’ve never heard of that happening in the city, especially in the park like that,’ one concerned Upper East Side resident, Robert LePlae, said. 

A freak thunderstorm that caught New Yorkers off guard Thursday afternoon left a 15-year-old in critical condition after he was struck by lightning while walking through Central Park (pictured’ bolt of lightning strikes near the Empire State Building in the Manhattan Skyline in New York City on Thursday, June 19)

The odds of being struck by lightning in any given year are less than one in a million, though almost 90 percent of victims survive.

Despite the low odds, lightning is one of the leading causes of weather-related deaths in the United States.

From 2009 to 2018, an average of 27 Americans were killed by lightning each year, according to the National Weather Service. 

In 2021, a 13-year-old boy was fatally struck while at Orchard Beach in the Bronx.

As authorities continue to monitor the teenager’s recovery, the incident serves as a reminder of the dangers posed by sudden and severe weather.