Thunderstorm Wind, Chickasaw
- When
- May 18, 12:05 AM CST
- Where
- Chickasaw County, Alta Vista
- Measured
- 85 kt (98 mph)
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 43.200, -92.430
Damaging Wind in Iowa, May 18, 1996
Several severe thunderstorm cells moved through Chickasaw, Howard, and Winneshiek Counties. They left a wind damage path 10 miles wide extending from near Alta Vista to north of Decorah.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $50,000
- 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 DMX wrote it up.
Several severe thunderstorm cells moved through Chickasaw, Howard, and Winneshiek Counties. They left a wind damage path 10 miles wide extending from near Alta Vista to north of Decorah. In the Alta Vista area, 2300 homes were left without power as the high winds downed 7 power poles of a 69,000 volt high tension line. The storms also produced golf ball to baseball size hail as well. Winds were estimated at between 70 and nearly 100 MPH.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heat in Illinois, May 18 to 19, 1996
- Hail in Minnesota, May 18, 1996
- Hail in Iowa, May 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, May 18, 1996
- Hail in Iowa, May 18, 1996
- Hail in Iowa, May 18, 1996
- Heat in Virginia, May 18 to 21, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, May 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, May 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Iowa, May 18, 1996
- Hail in Iowa, May 18, 1996
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, May 18, 1996
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, May 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: 5544931.