1 high wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
An intense storm brought strong northeast winds to Chicago's lakefront. Winds blew down a large tree onto 2 parked cars. Other trees, limbs and light poles were toppled by the winds. Fifteen foot waves washed over Lake Shore Drive and Meigs Field. The airport was closed when winds gusted to 58 mph and water and sand covered the runway.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, October 1997
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: 5617899.