High Wind in Iowa, April 6, 1997

Name: High Wind in Iowa, April 6, 1997
Start: 1997-04-06T08:00
End: 1997-04-06T16:00
Location: Iowa

April 6, 1997 · NWS DVN · 21 events in 21 counties and zones

Strong gradient winds howled across the area during the morning and early afternoon hours. Widespread and significant damage was done to trees and power lines.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 21 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: 0
Property damage: $2.5 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 21

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 howled across the area during the morning and early afternoon hours. Widespread and significant damage was done to trees and power lines. Isolated roof and other structural damage also occurred along with several reports of semi-trucks being blow off roads. One Quad City roofer was quoted as saying: "I've been a roofer for 27 years and I've never experienced anything like this." Reports indicated damage was done mostly to new roofs whose shingles had not completely sealed.Gusts at specific airport locations: Burlington, Iowa 47 knots, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 50 knots, Clinton, Iowa 57 knots, Dubuque, Iowa 48 knots, Davenport, Iowa 59 knots, Iowa City, Iowa 46 knots.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

21 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Buchanan

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Buchanan forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 42.471, -91.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Delaware

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Delaware forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 42.471, -91.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Dubuque

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Dubuque forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 42.469, -90.882 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Benton

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Benton forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 42.080, -92.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Linn

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Linn forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 42.079, -91.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Jones

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Jones forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 42.121, -91.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Jackson

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 42.172, -90.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Iowa

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Iowa forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 41.686, -92.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Johnson

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Johnson forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 41.672, -91.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Cedar

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Cedar forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 41.772, -91.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Clinton

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Clinton forecast zone
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 41.898, -90.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Muscatine

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Muscatine forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 41.484, -91.113 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Scott

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Scott forecast zone
Measured: 59 kt (68 mph)
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 41.637, -90.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Keokuk

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Keokuk forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 41.337, -92.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Washington

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 41.336, -91.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Louisa

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Louisa forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 41.219, -91.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Jefferson

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 41.032, -91.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Henry

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Henry forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 40.988, -91.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Des Moines

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Des Moines forecast zone
Measured: 47 kt (54 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 40.923, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Van Buren

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Van Buren forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 40.753, -91.950 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Lee

When: April 6, 8:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $100,000
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 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, 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: 5592025, 5592026, 5592027, 5592028, 5592029, 5592030, 5592031, 5592032, 5592033, 5592034, 5592035, 5592036, 5592037, 5592038, 5592039, 5592040, 5592041, 5592042, 5592043, 5592044, 5592045.