High Wind in Iowa, May 5, 1997

Name: High Wind in Iowa, May 5, 1997
Start: 1997-05-05T12:30
End: 1997-05-05T19:30
Location: Iowa

May 5, 1997 · NWS DMX · 33 events in 33 counties and zones

A strong cold front slid southeast across the state during the morning of the 5th. The pressure gradient was quite tight behind the front producing strong winds in its wake.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 33 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: 1
Property damage: $75,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 33

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.

A strong cold front slid southeast across the state during the morning of the 5th. The pressure gradient was quite tight behind the front producing strong winds in its wake. There was one injury as a result of the high winds. A motorcyclist was blown off his motorcycle near Ames in Story county. He suffered minor injuries. A tractor-semitrailer truck was overturned by the high winds near Story City, also in Story County. Overall, damage around the state was minor and quite spotty. Sustained wind speeds were in the 30 to 40 MPH range through the afternoon. The highest official gusts occurred at Carroll, Estherville, and Emmetsburg with 56 MPH winds. There were unofficial wind gusts reported around 60 mph however.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

33 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Emmet

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Emmet forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 43.378, -94.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Kossuth

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Kossuth forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 43.204, -94.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Winnebago

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Winnebago forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 43.378, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Worth

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Worth forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 43.377, -93.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Palo Alto

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Palo Alto forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 43.082, -94.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hancock

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Hancock forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 43.082, -93.734 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Cerro Gordo

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Cerro Gordo forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 43.082, -93.261 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Pocahontas

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Pocahontas forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.734, -94.679 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Humboldt

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Humboldt forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.777, -94.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Wright

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Wright forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.733, -93.735 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Franklin

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Franklin forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.733, -93.262 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Butler

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Butler forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.732, -92.790 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Bremer

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Bremer forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.775, -92.318 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Sac

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Sac forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.386, -95.105 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Calhoun

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Calhoun forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.385, -94.640 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Webster

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Webster forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.428, -94.182 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hamilton

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Hamilton forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.384, -93.707 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hardin

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Hardin forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.384, -93.240 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Grundy

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Grundy forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.402, -92.791 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Black Hawk

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Black Hawk forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.470, -92.309 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Crawford

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Crawford forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.037, -95.382 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Carroll

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Carroll forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.036, -94.861 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Greene

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Greene forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.036, -94.397 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Boone

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Boone forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.037, -93.932 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Story

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Story forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $75,000
Coordinates: 42.036, -93.465 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Marshall

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Marshall forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.036, -92.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Tama

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Tama forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 42.080, -92.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Audubon

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Audubon forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.685, -94.906 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Guthrie

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Guthrie forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.684, -94.501 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Dallas

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Dallas forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.685, -94.040 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Polk

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Polk forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.686, -93.573 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Jasper

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Jasper forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.686, -93.054 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Poweshiek

When: May 5, 12:30 PM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Poweshiek forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.686, -92.531 (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, May 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: 5613519, 5613520, 5613521, 5613522, 5613523, 5613524, 5613525, 5613526, 5613527, 5613528, 5613529, 5613530, 5613531, 5613532, 5613533, 5613534, 5613535, 5613536, 5613537, 5613598, 5613599, 5613600, 5613601, 5613602, 5613603, 5613604, 5613605, 5613606, 5613607, 5613608, 5613609, 5613610, 5613611.