There were more than 1,000 lightning strikes per hour in Maine yesterday during the peak of a storm, with one of the lightning strikes hitting a runway close to the air traffic control tower at BWI Airport, injuring a control tower worker.

A traffic management coordinator was turning on equipment in the tower and was shocked when the electricity traveled to the tower, said the President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, John Dunkerly. According to an FAA official, the worker did not seem to be seriously injured, but was taken to a nearby hospital.

The strike occurred at 2:20 pm causing flight operations to be shut down. The storm also knocked down power lines and trees in the area, as well as causing damage to an electric substation.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) shut down all arrivals and departures until 4:45 pm.