Thunderstorm Wind, Kossuth
- When
- May 19, 12:30 AM CST
- Where
- Kossuth County, 6 mi NE of Swea City
- Measured
- 59 kt (68 mph)
- Property damage
- $40,000
- Coordinates
- 43.450, -94.220
Damaging Wind in Iowa, May 19, 1996
Very unstable air was over Iowa with lifted indices near -10 and CAPE values of 3000 to 4000 J/kg. Thunderstorms erupted over South Dakota and Minnesota.
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
- $40,000
- 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.
Very unstable air was over Iowa with lifted indices near -10 and CAPE values of 3000 to 4000 J/kg. Thunderstorms erupted over South Dakota and Minnesota. There were numerous bow echoes assoiated with this convective complex. Iowa was on the south edge of the complex. A few storms skirted the northern edge of the state. One of them moved into Kossuth County and produced 65 to 70 MPH winds. The high winds downed power poles northeast of Swea City at the intersection of County roads A21 and P40.
The radar
The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 164 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:30 UTC.
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 Pennsylvania, May 19 to 21, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, May 19, 1996
- Hail in Minnesota, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, May 19, 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: 5544449.