Lightning, Decatur
- When
- September 23, 3:15 AM CST
- Where
- Decatur County, Leon
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Coordinates
- 40.738, -93.786 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Iowa, September 23, 1996
Thunderstorms moved across Decatur County during the early morning hours. Lightning struck an old barn near Leon, setting it on fire.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS DMX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms moved across Decatur County during the early morning hours. Lightning struck an old barn near Leon, setting it on fire. The barn was a total loss.
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 111 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:12 UTC.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Lightning Strike in Missouri, September 23, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Arkansas, September 23, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, September 23, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, September 23, 1996
- Hail in Iowa, September 23, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, September 23, 1996
- Flood in Missouri, September 23 to 24, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, September 23, 1996
- Hail in Nebraska, September 23, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Nebraska, September 23, 1996
- Hail in Kansas, September 23, 1996
- Hail in Missouri, September 23, 1996
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, September 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5566408.