High Wind in Illinois, April 30, 1997

Name: High Wind in Illinois, April 30, 1997
Start: 1997-04-30T14:00
End: 1997-04-30T23:59
Location: Illinois

April 30, 1997 · NWS ILX · 35 events in 35 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 35 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: $38,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 35

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 ILX wrote it up.

Strong gradient winds in excess of 50 mph with gusts to around 70 mph followed behind a line of severe thunderstorms as they marched across Central Illinois. The gradient winds lagged behind the thunderstorms by about 20 to 30 minutes and continued during the night finally letting up the next day, May 1st. Thousands of people across Central Illinois lost power for a time as hundreds of power lines were blown down. Several semis were blown over, with one trucker sustaining minor injuries when his semi was overturned near Jacksonville. Also, numerous trees and tree limbs were blown down and widespread structural damage was reported. The gradient winds blew down a 150 foot communications tower in Princeville (Peoria County). No injuries were reported. Homes in Manito (Mason County), Leroy (McLean County), Georgetown (Vermilion County), Effingham (Effingham County), and Olney (Richland County) sustained some damage due to trees falling on them. The gradient winds blew part of the roof off of a grade school gymnasium one mile west of De Land (Piatt County). Damage was estimated around $32,000 and no injuries were reported. Also, the winds blew the roof off of an apartment building in Towanda (McLean County), though no injuries were reported. Numerous sheds, grain bins, and machine sheds were either blown over, damaged, or destroyed by the gradient winds. Fortunately no deaths or serious injuries were reported.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

35 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Knox

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.932, -90.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Cass

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Cass forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.974, -90.247 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Champaign

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Champaign forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph)
Coordinates: 40.140, -88.199 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Christian

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Christian forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.546, -89.277 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Clark

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Clark forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.334, -87.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Clay

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Coordinates: 38.754, -88.490 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Coles

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Coles forecast zone
Property damage: $6,000
Coordinates: 39.520, -88.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Crawford

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.003, -87.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Cumberland

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Cumberland forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.273, -88.240 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, De Witt

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: De Witt forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.175, -88.904 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Douglas

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Douglas forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.770, -88.217 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Edgar

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Edgar forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.679, -87.746 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Effingham

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Effingham forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.060, -88.590 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Fulton

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Fulton forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.473, -90.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Jasper

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Jasper forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.010, -88.154 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Lawrence

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Lawrence forecast zone
Coordinates: 38.720, -87.727 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Logan

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Logan forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.125, -89.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Macon

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Macon forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.860, -88.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Marshall

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Marshall forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.033, -89.345 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Mason

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Mason forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.240, -89.917 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, McLean

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: McLean forecast zone
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Coordinates: 40.491, -88.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Menard

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Menard forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.027, -89.802 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Morgan

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Morgan forecast zone
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 39.716, -90.201 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Moultrie

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Moultrie forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.642, -88.619 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Peoria

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Peoria forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 40.788, -89.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Piatt

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Piatt forecast zone
Property damage: $32,000
Coordinates: 40.010, -88.591 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Richland

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Richland forecast zone
Coordinates: 38.712, -88.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Sangamon

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Sangamon forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 39.758, -89.659 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Schuyler

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Schuyler forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.158, -90.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Scott

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Scott forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.644, -90.475 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Shelby

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Shelby forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.391, -88.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Stark

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Stark forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.093, -89.797 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Tazewell

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Tazewell forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.508, -89.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Vermilion

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Vermilion forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.183, -87.733 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Woodford

When: April 30, 2:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Woodford forecast zone
Coordinates: 40.788, -89.211 (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 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, April 1997

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: 5600345, 5600346, 5600347, 5600459, 5600460, 5600461, 5600462, 5600463, 5600464, 5600465, 5600466, 5600467, 5600468, 5600469, 5600470, 5600471, 5600472, 5600473, 5600474, 5600475, 5600476, 5600477, 5600478, 5600479, 5600480, 5600481, 5600482, 5600483, 5600484, 5600485, 5600486, 5600487, 5600488, 5600489, 5600490.