Gradient winds behind a line of thunderstorms produced damage to area trees and power lines as they passed out of extreme eastern Iowa into northwest Illinois.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS DVN wrote it up.
Gradient winds behind a line of thunderstorms produced damage to area trees and power lines as they passed out of extreme eastern Iowa into northwest Illinois.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Gradient winds behind a line of thunderstorms produced measured wind gusts to 68 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, May 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: 5597971, 5597972.