{ "id": "2024-10-12-notre-dame-stadium-stanford-lightning-delay", "slug": "notre-dame-stadium-stanford-lightning-delay-2024-10-12", "institution": { "name": "University of Notre Dame", "shortName": "Notre Dame", "state": "IN", "type": "private-r1", "alertSystemName": "NDAlert", "enrollment": 13000 }, "incident": { "date": "2024-10-12", "type": "severe-storm", "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification", "resolution": "confirmed-threat", "headline": "Severe storm, October 12, 2024", "summary": "At [6:10 PM EDT on October 12, 2024](https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/article/updates-no-11-notre-dames-game-versus-stanford-suspended-due-to-lightning-in-the-area-237860686/), with No. 11 Notre Dame leading Stanford 42-7 entering the fourth quarter, the ACC officiating crew suspended play at [Notre Dame Stadium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_Stadium) after lightning was detected in the South Bend area. Spectators were directed to seek shelter in nearby campus buildings, the [Joyce Center, DeBartolo Hall, or the Mendoza College of Business](https://sports.yahoo.com/notre-dame-stanford-weather-updates-224737153.html). Both teams returned to the field at 7:00 PM EDT and play resumed at 7:10 PM EDT, an even-hour total delay. This was the second NBC college football broadcast in a week delayed by lightning.", "outcome": "Game resumed at 7:10 PM EDT. Notre Dame won 49-7. The remainder of the game [aired on CNBC and Peacock](https://www.wndu.com/2024/10/12/notre-dame-stanford-game-delayed-by-lightning/) due to NBC scheduling conflicts. No injuries reported during the evacuation." }, "alerts": [ { "sequence": 1, "type": "initial", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "Lightning is in the vicinity of Notre Dame Stadium. Please exit the stands and seek shelter immediately. Shelter is available in the stadium concourse or a nearby campus building.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/NotreDame/status/1845225978504605855", "sourceDescription": "@NotreDame on X (official, verbatim shelter)", "annotations": [ "Exact text from official X status 1845225978504605855 (syndication full text)" ], "characterCount": 179, "timestamp": "2024-10-12T18:12:10-04:00" }, { "sequence": 2, "type": "update", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "Shelter locations include the Stadium concourse, Hesburgh Library, the Joyce Center, Jordan Hall of Science, O’Shaughnessy Hall, Decio Faculty Hall, Mendoza College of Business, DeBartolo Hall, and Fitzpatrick and Cushing Halls of Engineering.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/NotreDame/status/1845226270201872820", "sourceDescription": "@NotreDame on X (verbatim)", "annotations": [ "Exact text from official X status 1845226270201872820 (syndication full text)", "Corrected to exact fxtwitter display text." ], "characterCount": 243, "timestamp": "2024-10-12T18:13:20-04:00" }, { "sequence": 3, "type": "all-clear", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "", "isVerbatimConfirmed": false, "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/NDFootball/status/1845238583495471514", "sourceDescription": "@NDFootball on X (verbatim)", "annotations": [], "timestamp": "2024-10-12T19:02:15-04:00" } ], "context": "[Notre Dame Stadium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_Stadium) is the 77,622-seat home of the Fighting Irish in South Bend. The October 12, 2024 game against Stanford had reached the end of the third quarter with Notre Dame leading 42-7 when the ACC officiating crew (which manages the game's weather protocol) [suspended play at 6:10 PM EDT](https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/article/updates-no-11-notre-dames-game-versus-stanford-suspended-due-to-lightning-in-the-area-237860686/) after lightning was detected in the South Bend area. Spectators were directed to seek shelter in three named campus buildings (the [Joyce Center, DeBartolo Hall, and the Mendoza College of Business](https://sports.yahoo.com/notre-dame-stanford-weather-updates-224737153.html)) a hybrid shelter model that uses adjacent academic buildings to absorb stadium-evacuated crowds. The delay ran an even hour: both teams returned to the field at 7:00 PM EDT and play resumed at 7:10 PM EDT. Notre Dame won 49-7. The remainder of the game aired on [CNBC and Peacock](https://www.wndu.com/2024/10/12/notre-dame-stanford-game-delayed-by-lightning/) due to NBC scheduling conflicts caused by the delay, an unusual broadcast hand-off that highlighted the operational complexity of weather suspensions for nationally-televised games. Awful Announcing noted this was the [second NBC college football broadcast in a week](https://x.com/awfulannouncing/status/1845228056635383868) delayed by lightning, part of a broader pattern across the 2024 season. Notre Dame Stadium would face a [second high-profile lightning delay against Purdue on September 20, 2025](/cases/2025-09-20-notre-dame-stadium-purdue-lightning-delay), making it one of the most weather-affected D1 venues across the 2024-2025 seasons.", "keyFindings": [ "Notre Dame's hybrid shelter model, directing 77,000+ fans to three named adjacent campus buildings (Joyce Center, DeBartolo Hall, Mendoza College of Business), is one of the cleanest examples of multi-building stadium evacuation in college football", "The 60-minute total delay was a textbook single-cell lightning hold (one full 30-minute NCAA reset cycle plus player warm-up) making it a baseline reference for how brief a single-strike clearance can be", "The mid-game NBC-to-CNBC-to-Peacock broadcast hand-off highlights an under-reported operational reality: weather suspensions on nationally-televised games can cascade into network schedule disruptions, not just stadium operations", "Notre Dame Stadium experienced lightning delays in both 2024 (vs Stanford) and 2025 (vs Purdue), making it one of the most weather-affected D1 venues of the period" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Notre Dame-Stanford weather updates: College football game delayed for inclement weather (Yahoo Sports)", "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/notre-dame-stanford-weather-updates-224737153.html", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "Notre Dame vs. Stanford Suspended Due to Inclement Weather: Updates (Sports Illustrated)", "url": "https://www.si.com/college/notredame/football/notre-dame-stanford-weather-updates", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "Notre Dame-Stanford game resumes after weather delay, rest of game airing on CNBC and Peacock (WNDU)", "url": "https://www.wndu.com/2024/10/12/notre-dame-stanford-game-delayed-by-lightning/", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "Updates: No. 11 Notre Dame's Football Game Versus Stanford Suspended Due to Lightning in the Area (247Sports)", "url": "https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/article/updates-no-11-notre-dames-game-versus-stanford-suspended-due-to-lightning-in-the-area-237860686/", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "Stanford and Notre Dame resume play after lighting delay (Washington Post)", "url": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/2024/10/12/notre-dame-stanford-lightning-delay/ca40f5c2-88ea-11ef-8274-e0558282750d_story.html", "type": "national-media" }, { "title": "@awfulannouncing — Stanford at Notre Dame delayed by lightning (X)", "url": "https://x.com/awfulannouncing/status/1845228056635383868", "type": "social-media" }, { "title": "@NDFootball on X", "url": "https://x.com/NDFootball", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "@NotreDame shelter (X)", "url": "https://x.com/NotreDame/status/1845225978504605855", "type": "official-social" }, { "title": "@NotreDame shelter locations (X)", "url": "https://x.com/NotreDame/status/1845226270201872820", "type": "official-social" }, { "title": "@NDFootball resume (X)", "url": "https://x.com/NDFootball/status/1845238583495471514", "type": "official-social" } ], "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "severe-storm", "lightning", "stadium-evacuation", "notre-dame-stadium", "football", "notre-dame", "acc", "weather-delay", "game-day", "non-violent", "private-r1", "broadcast-disruption" ], "dateAdded": "2026-05-14", "lastUpdated": "2026-07-20", "addedBy": "ingestion" }