High Wind in Illinois, March 25, 1996

Name: High Wind in Illinois, March 25, 1996
Start: 1996-03-25T00:00
End: 1996-03-25T18:00
Location: Illinois

March 25, 1996 · NWS LOT · 18 events in 18 counties and zones

A powerful storm brought high winds to northeast Illinois on March 25th. The strongest wind gusts occurred in the early morning hours.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 16 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 18

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 LOT wrote it up.

A powerful storm brought high winds to northeast Illinois on March 25th. The strongest wind gusts occurred in the early morning hours. Peak wind gusts were 55 mph at Meigs Field in Chicago, 46 mph at O'Hare Airport in Chicago and 52 mph at Rockfort Airport. Winds blew down tree limbs throughout northeast Illinois. Some limbs knocked down power lines. About 11,000 customers lost power in the Chicago area. At 200 am a large tree limb fell on a house in Dixon. At Watseka a large limb fell on 2 parked cars. In Oak Lawn a tree was uprooted. On the south side of Chicago a light pole fell on a man, breaking his leg.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

18 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Winnebago

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Winnebago forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph)
Coordinates: 42.336, -89.161 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Boone

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Boone forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph)
Coordinates: 42.323, -88.823 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, McHenry

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: McHenry forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)
Coordinates: 42.324, -88.452 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Lake

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Lake forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)
Coordinates: 42.349, -87.862 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Ogle

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Ogle forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph)
Coordinates: 42.043, -89.321 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Lee

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph)
Coordinates: 41.746, -89.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, De Kalb

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: De Kalb forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph)
Coordinates: 41.894, -88.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Kane

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Kane forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)
Coordinates: 41.939, -88.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Du Page

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Du Page forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)
Coordinates: 41.852, -88.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Cook

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Cook forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)

High Wind, La Salle

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: La Salle forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph)
Coordinates: 41.344, -88.886 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Kendall

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Kendall forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)
Coordinates: 41.591, -88.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Grundy

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Grundy forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)
Coordinates: 41.285, -88.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Will

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Will forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)

High Wind, Kankakee

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Kankakee forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)
Coordinates: 41.138, -87.862 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Livingston

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Livingston forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)
Coordinates: 40.892, -88.558 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Iroquois

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Iroquois forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)
Coordinates: 40.747, -87.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Ford

When: March 25, 12:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Ford forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)
Coordinates: 40.597, -88.223 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, March 1996

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: 5541731, 5541732, 5541733, 5541734, 5541735, 5541736, 5541737, 5541738, 5541739, 5541740, 5541741, 5541742, 5541743, 5541744, 5541745, 5541746, 5541747, 5541748.