Lightning Strike in Nebraska, April 23, 2008

Name: Lightning Strike in Nebraska, April 23, 2008
Start: 2008-04-23T15:40
End: 2008-04-23T15:40
Location: Nebraska

April 23, 2008 · NWS GLD · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A small area of thunderstorms moved rapidly NNE across Red Willow county Nebraska during the late afternoon hours. Although no severe weather was reported, a lightning strike injured a 9-year old boy in McCook.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
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 GLD wrote it up.

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 Goodland, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 23, 2:58 PM CST, 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 23, 2:58 PM CST, 42 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
258 PM MDT WED APR 23 2008

.DISCUSSION...
148 PM MDT WED APR 23 2008

MAIN FORECAST CONCERN IS THE POTENTIAL OF THUNDERSTORMS THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING AND AGAIN THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND THURSDAY NIGHT.

VERY MOIST LOW LEVEL SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST FLOW IS BRINGING DEWPOINTS
IN THE 50S AND LOWER 60S. A DRYLINE ALONG THE FRONT RANGE IS
BEGINNING TO MOVE EAST INTO THE PLAINS. CONVECTION FIRING UP OVER
SOUTHEAST COLORADO IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE AND MOVE INTO THE
FORECAST AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. WITH HIGH
CAPE VALUES AND SHEAR THAT IS INCREASING THROUGH THE
EVENING...THERE WILL A POSSIBILITY OF SOME SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS
DEVELOPING. THESE STORMS WILL PROPAGATE TO THE NORTHEAST ACROSS
THE TRI-STATE REGION...DIMINISHING OVERNIGHT AS THE UPPER SHORT
WAVE TROUGH LIFTS OUT ACROSS THE HIGH PLAINS.

THERE WILL BE ANOTHER COUPLE SHORT WAVE TROUGHS MOVING ACROSS THE
REGION THURSDAY EVENING AND AGAIN SATURDAY EVENING AS THE UPPER
SOUTHWEST FLOW TRANSITIONS INTO NORTHWEST FLOW. AS A
RESULT...THERE WILL BE ANOTHER CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TOMORROW
EVENING WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS SATURDAY EVENING. DO NOT CURRENTLY
HAVE THUNDERSTORMS IN THE FORECAST ON SATURDAY EVENING AS
TEMPERATURES ARE COOL AND MOISTURE IS MORE LIMITED.

EXPECT DRY CONDITIONS AND WARMER TEMPERATURES WITH HIGHS IN THE
70S AGAIN DURING THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK AS THE AMPLIFYING
RIDGE OVER THE WESTERN U.S. MOVES OVER THE ROCKIES AND HIGH
PLAINS.

LOCKHART
&&

.AVIATION...
525 AM MDT WED APR 23 2008

CONDITIONS AT THE KGLD TAF SITE WILL BE VFR FOR THE REMAINDER OF
TODAY WITH MVFR CONDITIONS IN LOWER CEILINGS DEVELOPING AFTER 03Z
AND PERSISTING THROUGH 12Z. CONDITIONS AT THE KMCK TAF SITE WILL
REMAIN MVFR THROUGH 12Z...IMPROVING AFTER 15Z. SOUTH WINDS OF 15 TO
20 MPH WILL GUST TO 30 MPH BEFORE DECREASING AFTER 06Z TONIGHT. THERE
IS ALSO THE POSSIBILITY OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING
BETWEEN 21 AND 03Z...DIMINISHING AFTER 06Z.

LOCKHART
&&

.GLD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
KS...NONE.
NE...NONE.
CO...NONE.
&&

WFO GOODLAND

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 23, 10:37 AM CST, 5 hours 3 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
1037 AM MDT WED APR 23 2008

COZ090>092-KSZ001>004-013>016-027>029-041-042-NEZ079>081-241545-
YUMA-KIT CARSON-CHEYENNE CO-CHEYENNE KS-RAWLINS-DECATUR-NORTON-
SHERMAN-THOMAS-SHERIDAN-GRAHAM-WALLACE-LOGAN-GOVE-GREELEY-WICHITA-
DUNDY-HITCHCOCK-RED WILLOW-
1037 AM MDT WED APR 23 2008 /1137 AM CDT WED APR 23 2008/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME SOUTHWEST
NEBRASKA...NORTHWEST KANSAS AND EAST CENTRAL COLORADO.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP EAST OF HIGHWAY 27 BY
THE MID AFTERNOON HOURS ASSOCIATED WITH AN UPPER LEVEL WEATHER
DISTURBANCE MOVING NORTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA. CLOUD-TO-GROUND
LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS WITH STRONGER
STORMS. BY LATE AFTERNOON...ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP ALONG A NORTH-SOUTH ORIENTED DRYLINE SITUATED IN COLORADO
NEAR LIMON. THUNDERSTORMS WILL THEN MOVE TOWARD THE COLORADO-KANSAS
BORDER EARLY THIS EVENING. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE THE
POTENTIAL TO BECOME SEVERE WITH LARGE HAIL BEING THE MAIN THREAT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THUNDERSTORMS WILL AGAIN DEVELOP IN THE AREA THURSDAY AFTERNOON
AND EVENING. MOST ACTIVITY WILL BE NORTH OF A KIRK COLORADO TO
OAKLEY KANSAS LINE DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. A FEW
THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE SEVERE.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED AFTER 4 PM MDT ACROSS EASTERN
COLORADO AND EXTREME WESTERN KANSAS.

24

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Apr 23, 3:10 PM CST, 30 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
310 PM MDT WED APR 23 2008

KSZ003-004-015-016-232145-
DECATUR-GRAHAM-NORTON-SHERIDAN-
410 PM CDT WED APR 23 2008

...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GOODLAND HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT
WEATHER ALERT FOR NORTON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST KANSAS...DECATUR COUNTY
IN NORTHWEST KANSAS...SHERIDAN COUNTY IN NORTHWEST KANSAS AND GRAHAM
COUNTY IN NORTHWEST KANSAS...

AT 406 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DRESDEN...AND MOVING NORTH
AT 40 MPH.

PENNY TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL...AND WINDS TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH
THIS STORM.

Special weather statement, Apr 23, 3:25 PM CST, 15 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GOODLAND KS
325 PM MDT WED APR 23 2008

NEZ081-232200-
RED WILLOW-
425 PM CDT WED APR 23 2008

...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GOODLAND HAS ISSUED A SIGNIFICANT
WEATHER ALERT FOR RED WILLOW COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST NEBRASKA...

AT 420 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
THAT THUNDERSTORMS WERE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF
CEDAR BLUFFS...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. STORMS MAY BECOME
SEVERE OVER THE NEXT HOUR...AND PEOPLE IN THIS AREA SHOULD BE ALERT
FOR CHANGING WEATHER.

JRM

The radar

The Goodland radar (KGLD), 131 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:39 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Red Willow

When: April 23, 3:40 PM CST
Where: Red Willow County, Mc Cook
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 40.200, -100.620

A 9-year old boy ran outside to retrieve a cardboard box before the storm arrived so it wouldn't blow away. As he was retrieving the box which was near a yard light, lightning struck the light pole and jumped to a metal button on his coat. He complained of shoulder pain, a tingling sensation in his body and a metal taste in his mouth. He was taken to the hospital where tests were performed, then treated and released.

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

Every storm in Nebraska in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Nebraska, April 2008

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: 97753.