High Wind in Iowa, October 29 to 30, 1996

Name: High Wind in Iowa, October 29 to 30, 1996
Start: 1996-10-29T16:30
End: 1996-10-30T06:00
Location: Iowa

October 29 to 30, 1996 · NWS DVN · 20 events in 20 counties and zones

Strong gradient winds occurred behind a line of thunderstorms along a stong cold front. This caused widespread damage to trees and power lines.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 20 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: 1
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 20

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 DVN wrote it up.

Strong gradient winds occurred behind a line of thunderstorms along a stong cold front. This caused widespread damage to trees and power lines. Numerous tin sheds and a few barns were destroyed during the 15 to 20 hours of strong to severe winds. Power outages were too numerous to count. In Dubuque county on Highway 20 near Epworth Iowa, a semi-tractor trailer was overturned and its driver injured. In spite of all the damage to trees, many newspaper articles across the area reported that damage to unharvested crops was minimal.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Buchanan

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Buchanan forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.471, -91.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Delaware

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.471, -91.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Dubuque

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Dubuque forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $20,000
Coordinates: 42.469, -90.882 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Benton

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Benton forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.080, -92.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Jones

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Jones forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.121, -91.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Jackson

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.172, -90.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Iowa

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Iowa forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.686, -92.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Johnson

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Johnson forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.672, -91.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Cedar

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Cedar forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.772, -91.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Clinton

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Clinton forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.898, -90.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Muscatine

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Muscatine forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.484, -91.113 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Scott

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Scott forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.637, -90.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Keokuk

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Keokuk forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.337, -92.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Washington

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.336, -91.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Louisa

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Louisa forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.219, -91.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Jefferson

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.032, -91.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Henry

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Henry forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 40.988, -91.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Des Moines

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Des Moines forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 40.923, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Van Buren

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Van Buren forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 40.753, -91.950 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Lee

When: October 29, 4:30 PM CST to October 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 40.642, -91.479 (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 Iowa in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, October 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5569869, 5569870, 5569871, 5569872, 5569873, 5569874, 5569875, 5569876, 5569877, 5569878, 5569879, 5569880, 5569881, 5569882, 5570051, 5570052, 5570053, 5570054, 5570055, 5570056.