High Wind in Iowa, October 26, 2008

Name: High Wind in Iowa, October 26, 2008
Start: 2008-10-26T13:00
End: 2008-10-26T18:00
Location: Iowa

October 26, 2008 · NWS FSD · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Strong northwest winds reached sustained speeds of 40 mph or more with gusts to around 60 mph over all of northwest Iowa during the morning and afternoon of October 26th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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: 0
Property damage: $45,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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 FSD wrote it up.

Strong northwest winds reached sustained speeds of 40 mph or more with gusts to around 60 mph over all of northwest Iowa during the morning and afternoon of October 26th.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 25, 2:00 PM CST, 23 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 25, 2:00 PM CST, 23 hours before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Lyon

When: October 26, 1:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Lyon forecast zone
Measured: 39 kt (45 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 43.381, -96.210 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Osceola

When: October 26, 1:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Osceola forecast zone
Measured: 39 kt (45 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 43.379, -95.624 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Dickinson

When: October 26, 1:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Dickinson forecast zone
Measured: 39 kt (45 mph) estimated sustained
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 43.378, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High winds sustained at 40 to 45 mph and gusting to around 60 mph blew the roof off a mobile home 5 miles southeast of Lake Park at Okoboji.

High Wind, Sioux

When: October 26, 1:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Sioux forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 43.083, -96.178 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, O'Brien

When: October 26, 1:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: O'Brien forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) measured sustained
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 43.084, -95.625 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High winds sustained at 40 to 45 mph and gusting to around 60 mph caused tree damage, including large trees blown down onto and damaging garage roofs in both Paulina and Sanborn.

High Wind, Clay

When: October 26, 1:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Measured: 39 kt (45 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 43.083, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Plymouth

When: October 26, 1:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Plymouth forecast zone
Measured: 39 kt (45 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 42.738, -96.214 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Cherokee

When: October 26, 1:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Cherokee forecast zone
Measured: 39 kt (45 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 42.736, -95.624 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Buena Vista

When: October 26, 1:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Buena Vista forecast zone
Measured: 39 kt (45 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 42.736, -95.151 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Woodbury

When: October 26, 1:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Woodbury forecast zone
Measured: 39 kt (45 mph) estimated sustained
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 42.390, -96.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High winds sustained at 40 to 45 mph and gusting to around 60 mph caused damage to trees and power lines. Brief power outages were reported in the Sioux City area from trees and tree debris hitting power lines.

High Wind, Ida

When: October 26, 1:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Ida forecast zone
Measured: 39 kt (45 mph) estimated sustained
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 42.387, -95.513 (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 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Iowa, October 2008

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 138771, 138772, 138773, 138776, 138778, 138780, 138781, 138782, 138783, 138784, 138785.