High Wind, Dane
- When
- April 6, 9:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
- Where
- Dane forecast zone
- Measured
- 62 kt (71 mph)
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $120,000
- Coordinates
- 43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 1997
Strong gradient winds, enhanced by scattered snow showers (transfer of higher level momentum downward to surface by mixing), resulted in scattered damage reports. In Sun Prairie, the high winds, measured at 66 mph, blew open a glass door in a restaurant.
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
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $120,000
- 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 MKX wrote it up.
Strong gradient winds, enhanced by scattered snow showers (transfer of higher level momentum downward to surface by mixing), resulted in scattered damage reports. In Sun Prairie, the high winds, measured at 66 mph, blew open a glass door in a restaurant. The glass debris struck and injured an elderly women, who died from the injuries the next day. The Madison TV-3 weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 71 mph at 1715 CST. In the civil Town of Dane, a gust of 61 mph was noted. Southeast of Mount Horeb, the high winds forced the collapse of a barn. A camper vehicle was tipped over on by the powerful winds on Highway 113. The high winds also toppled large trees in scattered areas across the entire county. One tree in Monona fell against a home and damaged its siding and windows. Power outages were noted. People described the wind-driven debris as "missles flying through the air."
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind, Dane | 1997-04-07 | 80 | Female | Other | Direct |
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
- High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Iowa, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Michigan, April 6 to 7, 1997
- High Wind in Iowa, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Michigan, April 6 to 7, 1997
- High Wind in Illinois, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in South Dakota, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 1997
- High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 1997
More
Every storm in Wisconsin in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Wisconsin, April 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: 5593883.