High Wind, Emmet
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Emmet forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 43.378, -94.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in Iowa, October 13, 1997
Intense low pressure moved into central Canada During the early morning hours of the 13th. A strong cold front swept through Iowa as the low lifted north.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 17 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
- $297,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 17
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.
Intense low pressure moved into central Canada During the early morning hours of the 13th. A strong cold front swept through Iowa as the low lifted north. High winds swept in as the cold air overspread the state. Sustained winds of 30 to 40 MPH were common with frequent gusts to between 50 to 60 MPH. Scattered damage was reported over the west half of the state. The only significant reports came from the north central counties, specifically Humboldt County. Winds were recorded at 81 MPH near Rutland at 0347 CST. These winds caused damage around $47,000 to a greenhouse there. Thirty thousand dollars damage was to plants and produce.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
17 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Adair
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Adair forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 41.331, -94.471 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Adams
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Adams forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 41.029, -94.699 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Audubon
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Audubon forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 41.685, -94.906 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Calhoun
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Calhoun forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 42.385, -94.640 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Carroll
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Carroll forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 42.036, -94.861 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Cass
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Cass forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 41.332, -94.928 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Crawford
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Crawford forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 42.037, -95.382 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Greene
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Greene forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 42.036, -94.397 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Guthrie
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Guthrie forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 41.684, -94.501 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Humboldt
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Humboldt forecast zone
- Measured
- 70 kt (81 mph)
- Property damage
- $63,000
- Coordinates
- 42.777, -94.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Kossuth
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Kossuth forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 43.204, -94.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Palo Alto
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Palo Alto forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 43.082, -94.678 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Pocahontas
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Pocahontas forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 42.734, -94.679 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Sac
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Sac forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 42.386, -95.105 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Taylor
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Taylor forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $16,000
- Coordinates
- 40.737, -94.696 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Webster
- When
- October 13, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Webster forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.428, -94.182 (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
- Flash Flooding in Puerto Rico, October 13 to 14, 1997
- High Wind in U.S. Virgin Islands, October 13 to 15, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Texas, October 13, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Texas, October 13, 1997
- High Wind in Nebraska, October 13, 1997
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Texas, October 13, 1997
- Flooding in U.S. Virgin Islands, October 13, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, October 13, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, October 13, 1997
- High Wind in Iowa, October 13, 1997
- Wildfire and High Wind in California, October 13 to 19, 1997
- High Wind in Wyoming, October 13, 1997
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, October 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: 5617490, 5617491, 5617492, 5617493, 5617494, 5617495, 5617496, 5617541, 5617542, 5617543, 5617544, 5617545, 5617546, 5617547, 5617548, 5617549, 5617550.