Lightning, Winnebago
- When
- August 30, 12:30 AM CST
- Where
- Winnebago County, Forest City
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Coordinates
- 43.378, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Iowa, August 30, 1997
Thunderstorms moved acros Winnebago County during the early morning hours of the 30th. Though they were not severe, lightning damage occurred in Forest City.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
- $30,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 DMX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms moved acros Winnebago County during the early morning hours of the 30th. Though they were not severe, lightning damage occurred in Forest City. Lightning struck the radio tower at the County Dispatch Office. The lightning damaged several thousand dollars worth of radio equipment and took the center off line for five hours.
The radar
The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 164 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:32 UTC.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Damaging Winds in South Carolina, August 30, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Nebraska, August 30, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Florida, August 30, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, August 30, 1997
- High Wind in Alaska, August 30, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, August 30, 1997
- High Wind in Alaska, August 30 to 31, 1997
- Tornado in Minnesota, August 30, 1997
- Waterspout in Michigan, August 30, 1997
- Waterspout in Ohio, August 30, 1997
- Waterspout in Ohio, August 30, 1997
- High Wind in Alaska, August 30, 1997
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, August 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: 5610260.