Minnesota, 2017

High Wind and Strong Wind in Minnesota, October 24, 2017

October 24, 2017 · NWS DLH · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Strong winds across the Northlandcaused damage to a holiday outdoor light exhibit in downtown Duluth. Additional damage was done to power lines, which resulted in over 660 residences across Duluth, Esko, and the Iron Range without power for several hours.

Where it happened

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.

  • 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
$5,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 DLH wrote it up.

Strong winds across the Northlandcaused damage to a holiday outdoor light exhibit in downtown Duluth. Additional damage was done to power lines, which resulted in over 660 residences across Duluth, Esko, and the Iron Range without power for several hours.

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 Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 23, 5:47 PM CST, 8 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 23, 5:47 PM CST, 8 hours 23 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 23, 3:20 PM CST, 10 hours 50 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high wind, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Southern Lake

When
October 24, 2:10 AM CST
Where
Southern Lake forecast zone
Measured
51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
47.557, -91.935 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High winds measured by SLVM5.

Strong Wind, Southern St. Louis / Carlton

When
October 24, 2:33 AM CST to 6:13 AM CST
Where
Southern St. Louis / Carlton forecast zone
Measured
44 kt (51 mph) measured gust
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
Social Media
Coordinates
47.091, -92.569 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An organization that puts on an outdoor Christmas lights show in downtown Duluth posted pictures showcasing damage done to large constructed lights displays from strong winds. The nearby AWOS station reported peak gusts reaching 51 mph with a top sustained wind of 33 mph.

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Strong Wind
Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, October 2017

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: 722973, 719792.