Lavallette to Deploy New Lightning Detection Network at Beaches

A lightning detection sensor array in Ortley Beach, May 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)

Lavallette officials are forging their own path when it comes to lightning safety at beaches in an effort to complement the wider network of detection systems in neighboring towns.

The borough currently operates a portion of an automated lightning detection system – an alarm and a strobe light that alerts beachgoers to storms approaching the area – but the current setup only activates when lightning is detected by a system in Ortley Beach. Lavallette is now planning to rework the system to deploy both a detection array as well as at least two alert stations on the boardwalk using funds it received from a settlement with Verizon stemming from a dispute over the installation of 5G network antennas.

The new lightning detection systems will be installed at Philadelphia and Kerr avenues, officials said. In addition, at 18-foot antenna will be installed at the lifeguard headquarters building on Philadelphia Avenue that will serve as the nucleus of the system, detecting lighting activity at ranges of more than 10 miles. When lightning is detected, an audible alarm sounds for a short period of time, and the strobe light flashes until the threat is over. As it currently stands, Lavallette’s detectors feed off data from Toms River’s system in Ortley Beach. Lightning detectors are also installed at one of the privately-owned beaches in Toms River’s Ocean Beach section.

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“We’re going to put the antenna at [Philadelphia] so the whole system will be expandable,” said Councilwoman Joanne Filippone.

Some residents, she said, have suggested additional lightning detection systems be installed along the ocean and at the bay beach, however the borough will begin with the two detectors, which are expected to be audible in all the areas between those in neighboring towns.

“The Philadelphia unit will go south far enough that it will meet with the sound from Ortley Beach,” said Filippone, while the Kerr Avenue unit will send out an alert that will cover the area northward to the Ocean Beach array.

“If we want to add another at the bay, we’ll be able to do it, and if we need another one somewhere – like Newark or Trenton – we can expand it there, too,” she said, adding that the system will be networked to the main antenna at the lifeguard headquarters. “We’re going to play it by ear and see if the sound will carry.”

The siren is expected to be audible near the bay, according to officials.

A hazard flag flies at Brick Beach I; the Thor Guard lightning system. (Photos: Daniel Nee / Thor Guard)

Lightning detection systems on local beaches began to come into favor by towns following the tragic death of a lifeguard in South Seaside Park in 2021 who was struck by lighting from a far-away storm despite what appeared to be pleasant weather at the beach. Insurance carriers have also begun recommending the systems be installed so both employees and the general public have time to get out of the water and seek shelter as a storm approaches.

The system is expected to cost about $27,000, the majority of which will be funded through a $20,000 grant from Verizon that came as part of a settlement stemming from litigation over the company’s 5G network deployments. The lightning detection system is unrelated to the 5G network or Verizon; the company simply offered the funding as part of the larger settlement.

Councilman George Shenewolf said the system is expected to be in service by the end of July, and an eventual expansion to the bay area is likely.