For the 24-hour period ending at 6 a.m. on Friday sensors detected more than 28,000 cloud to ground lightning strikes in the portion of the Northern Great Plains shown in the map above.
The National Weather Service issued Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches on Friday for areas in Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, and North Dakota.
The Red Flag map was current as of 10 a.m. MDT on Friday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts.