Lightning, Dawson
- When
- September 5, 2:20 AM CST
- Where
- Dawson County, Lexington
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 40.870, -99.820 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Nebraska, September 5, 2000
Lightning struck the only dry cleaning business in Lexington about 320 am. The resulting fire burned the building to the ground.
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
- $250,000
- 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 GID wrote it up.
Lightning struck the only dry cleaning business in Lexington about 320 am. The resulting fire burned the building to the ground. Fire personnel from Lexington, Cozad and Overton were called to the scene, but to no avail. Infernos were seen as cleaning chemicals in the building caught fire. It took more than 6 hours to control the flames. The loss was estimated at $250,000. The decision to rebuild has not yet been made.
The radar
The Grand Island radar (KUEX), 131 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:21 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
- Tropical Storm in Guam, September 5 to 8, 2000
- Wildfire and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, September 5 to 6, 2000
- Damaging Winds in Texas, September 5, 2000
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, September 5, 2000
- Lightning Strike in Florida, September 5, 2000
- Wildfire in Texas, September 5 to 6, 2000
- Extreme Cold in Oregon, September 5 to 6, 2000
- Flash Flooding in South Carolina, September 5, 2000
- High Wind in Alaska, September 5 to 6, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, September 5, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Alabama, September 5, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Wind in North Dakota, September 5, 2000
More
Every storm in Nebraska in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, September 2000
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: 5171088.