Lightning, Custer
- When
- August 1, 12:00 AM MST to August 8, 5:00 PM MST
- Where
- Custer County, 22 mi W of Custer
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Reported by
- PARK/FOREST SERVICE
- Coordinates
- 43.678, -103.451 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in South Dakota, August 1 to 8, 2001
Two large lightning fires ignited on July 30 and continued until Aug 8. The two fires grew until they were only a few miles apart in Custer County.
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
- $500,000
- 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 UNR wrote it up.
Two large lightning fires ignited on July 30 and continued until Aug 8. The two fires grew until they were only a few miles apart in Custer County. No injuries were reported, however 26,800 total acres burned with these two fires. One historic cabin, seven out buildings, and one seasonal residence were destroyed. 1000 people fought this fire. During the week-long fire, over 173 hours of flight time were logged among numerous aircraft. 400,000 gallons of water was dropped from aircraft along with 357,000 gallons of fire retardant.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Rapid City, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 1:00 PM MST, 11 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 1:00 PM MST, 11 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR WESTERN SD AND NORTHEASTERN WY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD 200 PM MDT TUE JUL 31 2001 CURRENT SURFACE MAP SHOWS COLD FRONT FROM NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA TO SOUTHWEST SOUTH DAKOTA...WITH TROF MOVING THROUGH SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA. SKIES HAVE CLEAR OUT ACROSS THE WESTERN HALF OF CWA THIS AFTERNOON...WITH SOME CUMULUS REDEVELOPING. FRONT CONTINUES PROGRESSION EAST TONIGHT...WITH HIGH BUILDING IN. HIGH REMAINS OVER THE AREA WEDNESDAY WITH LIGHT WINDS. FORECAST SOUNDINGS SUPPORT A DRY FORECAST. THE HIGH MOVES EAST WEDNESDAY NIGHT...WITH RETURN FLOW SETTING UP OVER THE WESTERN HALF OF THE CWA. SOME WARM AIR/THETA-E ADVECTION WEDNESDAY NIGHT...HOWEVER WITH CONDENSATION PRESSURE DEFICITS OF 150-200MB WILL LEAVE THE FORECAST DRY. LEE TROF MOVES INTO EASTERN WYOMING THURSDAY...WITH DEWPOINTS OF 60+ FORECAST TO MOVE BACK INTO WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA. WILL ADD A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR THURSDAY. IN THE EXTENDED...RIDGE BUILDS ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE WEEKEND INTO NEXT WEEK. MRF/AVN GIVE A SLIGHT INDICATION THAT MONSOONAL MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK UP IN SOUTHWEST FLOW...SO WILL LEAVE IN THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE WEEKEND. .UNR...NONE. KC
The radar
The Rapid City radar (KUDX), 70 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:02 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
- Heat in Missouri, August 1 to 5, 2001
- Heat in Missouri, August 1 to 9, 2001
- Heat in Missouri, August 1 to 2, 2001
- Drought in Iowa, August 1 to 23, 2001
- Heat in Minnesota, August 1, 2001
- Flooding in North Dakota, August 1 to 31, 2001
- Heat in Illinois, August 1, 2001
- High Wind in Florida, August 1, 2001
- Heat in Texas, August 1, 2001
- Heat in Louisiana, August 1, 2001
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Wisconsin, August 1 to 2, 2001
- Wildfire in California, August 1 to 31, 2001
More
Every storm in South Dakota in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, August 2001
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: 5265960.