High Wind, Boone
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Boone forecast zone
- Measured
- 40 kt (46 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.323, -88.823 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in Illinois, September 29, 1997
Strong low pressure over the upper Great lakes brought strong winds to northern Illinois during the afternoon of Monday September 29. The winds peaked between 200pm and 400 pm CDT (1300-1500CST) Some peak wind gusts included; Morris, Grundy County 64 mph, Peru, La Salle County 58 mph, Watseka, Iroquois County 56 mph, Carol Stream, DuPage County 53 mph, Aurora, Kane County 52 mph, NWS forecast…
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 16 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 18
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 LOT wrote it up.
Strong low pressure over the upper Great lakes brought strong winds to northern Illinois during the afternoon of Monday September 29. The winds peaked between 200pm and 400 pm CDT (1300-1500CST) Some peak wind gusts included; Morris, Grundy County 64 mph, Peru, La Salle County 58 mph, Watseka, Iroquois County 56 mph, Carol Stream, DuPage County 53 mph, Aurora, Kane County 52 mph, NWS forecast office in Romeoville, Will County 49 mph, Palwaukee Airport, Wheeling and O'Hare Airport, Chicago, both in Cook County 47 mph, Woodstock, Mc Henry County 47 mph, and Rockford Airport, Winnebago County 45 mph. The wind died down during the evening. The strong winds blew down numerous tree limbs and a few large trees throughout northern Illinois. The falling limbs knocked out power to over 40,000 customers. Flights were delayed at O'Hare Airport. A tree fell on a police car in Barrington Hills, but the officer in the car was not injured. The high winds also fanned brush and grass fires in Livingston, Ford and Iroquois Counties.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
18 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Cook
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Cook forecast zone
- Measured
- 41 kt (47 mph)
High Wind, De Kalb
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- De Kalb forecast zone
- Measured
- 40 kt (46 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.894, -88.770 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Du Page
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Du Page forecast zone
- Measured
- 46 kt (53 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.852, -88.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Ford
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Ford forecast zone
- Measured
- 40 kt (46 mph)
- Coordinates
- 40.597, -88.223 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Grundy
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Grundy forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.285, -88.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Iroquois
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Iroquois forecast zone
- Measured
- 49 kt (56 mph)
- Coordinates
- 40.747, -87.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Kane
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Kane forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.939, -88.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Kankakee
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Kankakee forecast zone
- Measured
- 40 kt (46 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.138, -87.862 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Kendall
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Kendall forecast zone
- Measured
- 40 kt (46 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.591, -88.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, La Salle
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- La Salle forecast zone
- Measured
- 40 kt (46 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.344, -88.886 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Lake
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Lake forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.349, -87.862 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Lee
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Lee forecast zone
- Measured
- 40 kt (46 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.746, -89.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Livingston
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Livingston forecast zone
- Measured
- 40 kt (46 mph)
- Coordinates
- 40.892, -88.558 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, McHenry
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- McHenry forecast zone
- Measured
- 41 kt (47 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.324, -88.452 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Ogle
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Ogle forecast zone
- Measured
- 40 kt (46 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.043, -89.321 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Will
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Will forecast zone
- Measured
- 43 kt (49 mph)
High Wind, Winnebago
- When
- September 29, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Winnebago forecast zone
- Measured
- 39 kt (45 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.336, -89.161 (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
- Damaging Winds in New York, September 29, 1997
- Strong Wind in Wisconsin, September 29, 1997
- High Wind in Ohio, September 29, 1997
- High Wind in Illinois, September 29, 1997
- High Wind in Illinois, September 29, 1997
- High Wind in Iowa, September 29, 1997
- High Wind in Michigan, September 29 to 30, 1997
- High Wind in Ohio, September 29, 1997
- Strong Wind in New York, September 29, 1997
- Strong Wind in Wisconsin, September 29, 1997
- Strong Wind in Massachusetts, September 29, 1997
- High Wind in Ohio, September 29, 1997
More
Every storm in Illinois in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, September 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: 5617879, 5617880, 5617881, 5617882, 5617883, 5617884, 5617885, 5617886, 5617887, 5617888, 5617889, 5617890, 5617891, 5617892, 5617893, 5617894, 5617895, 5617896.