High Wind, Benton
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Benton forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.080, -92.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in Iowa, September 29, 1997
Gradient winds caused widespread damage to trees and property in Iowa and Illinois. Over 65,000 power customers were without power for several days due to downed power lines.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 22 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
- $10,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 22
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.
Gradient winds caused widespread damage to trees and property in Iowa and Illinois. Over 65,000 power customers were without power for several days due to downed power lines. A large cottonwood tree fell on a home in Camanche causing serious structural damage. The winds slowed river operations at Lock and Dam 13 near Fulton IL as some boaters were afraid to leave the safety of the narrow channel and enter the wide open upstream pool where winds might capsize their boats.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
22 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Buchanan
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Buchanan forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.471, -91.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Cedar
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Cedar forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.772, -91.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Clayton
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Clayton forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.845, -91.341 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Clinton
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Clinton forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 41.898, -90.532 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Large cottonwood tree fell on a home in Camanche causing serious structural damage. l Wnd gusts measured 46 kts at Clinton Municipal Airport.
High Wind, Delaware
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Delaware forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.471, -91.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Des Moines
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Des Moines forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 40.923, -91.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Large tree downed at Mediapolis blocked roadway.
High Wind, Dubuque
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Dubuque forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.469, -90.882 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Henry
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Henry forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 40.988, -91.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Iowa
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Iowa forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.686, -92.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Jackson
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jackson forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.172, -90.574 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Large trees downed in Maquoketa.
High Wind, Jefferson
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jefferson forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.032, -91.949 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Johnson
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Johnson forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.672, -91.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Jones
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jones forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.121, -91.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Keokuk
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Keokuk forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.337, -92.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Lee
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Lee forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 40.642, -91.479 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Linn
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Linn forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.079, -91.599 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Louisa
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Louisa forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.219, -91.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Muscatine
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Muscatine forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.484, -91.113 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Large tree downed at West Liberty took a day to cut up and remove.
High Wind, Scott
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Scott forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.637, -90.623 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Van Buren
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Van Buren forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 40.753, -91.950 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Washington
- When
- September 29, 11:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Washington forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.336, -91.718 (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
- Damaging Winds in New York, September 29, 1997
- Strong Wind in Wisconsin, September 29, 1997
- High Wind in Ohio, September 29, 1997
- High Wind in Illinois, September 29, 1997
- High Wind in Illinois, September 29, 1997
- High Wind in Michigan, September 29 to 30, 1997
- High Wind in Illinois, September 29, 1997
- High Wind in Ohio, September 29, 1997
- Strong Wind in New York, September 29, 1997
- Strong Wind in Wisconsin, September 29, 1997
- Strong Wind in Massachusetts, September 29, 1997
- High Wind in Ohio, September 29, 1997
More
Every storm in Iowa in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, September 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: 5623997, 5623998, 5623999, 5624000, 5624001, 5624002, 5624003, 5624004, 5624005, 5624006, 5624007, 5624008, 5624009, 5624010, 5624011, 5624012, 5624013, 5624014, 5624015, 5624016, 5624087, 5624088.