Lightning, Custer
- When
- September 1, 10:00 PM MST to September 4, 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Custer County, 12 mi S of Pringle
- Reported by
- PARK/FOREST SERVICE
- Coordinates
- 43.678, -103.451 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in South Dakota, September 1 to 4, 2001
Lightning ignited a fire which burned 178 acres in southern 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
- None recorded
- 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.
Lightning ignited a fire which burned 178 acres in southern Custer County.
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 Sep 1, 7:00 PM MST, 3 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 1, 7:00 PM MST, 3 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR WESTERN SD AND NORTHEASTERN WY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD 800 PM MDT SAT SEP 1 2001 CURRENT ZONES ON TRACK. WILL UPDATE TO REMOVE PRECIPITATION AND TWEAK WINDS. .UNR...NONE. BAK
The radar
The Rapid City radar (KUDX), 70 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:00 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
- Flash Flooding and Flood in California, September 1 to 3, 2001
- Flash Flooding in Texas, September 1, 2001
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, September 1, 2001
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, September 1, 2001
- Flash Flood in Texas, September 1, 2001
- Drought in Texas, September 1 to 30, 2001
- Flash Flood in Texas, September 1, 2001
- Heavy Rain in West Virginia, September 1 to 30, 2001
- Drought in Texas, September 1 to 30, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Kansas, September 1, 2001
- Drought in Hawaii, September 1 to 30, 2001
- Hail in North Dakota, September 1, 2001
More
Every storm in South Dakota in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, September 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: 5268076.