High Wind — Cherokee, Iowa

2025-03-19 · Cherokee, Iowa

Event narrative

Sustained winds occasionally reached 30 to 40 mph during the morning. A peak wind gust of 65 mph was recorded at 0830 CST by a private weather station approximately 6 miles north of Cleghorn.

Wider weather episode

A strong Colorado Low moved through the Central Plains and Mid-Mississippi River Valley on March 19. After initial light rain showers, a heavy band of snow developed across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa with 7 to 10 inches of accumulation. On the northwest side of the band, there was a very sharp cutoff in snowfall.

Heavy snow, when combined with widespread northwest wind gusts from 35 to 65 mph, resulted in white-out conditions across northwest Iowa and northeast Nebraska. Travel was not advised in the blizzard area with thousands of reported power outages and numerous school closures. Interstate 29 was closed from Sioux City, IA to Missouri Valley, IA and it took through the following day for roads to be opened and power to be restored for most residents.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1249508. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.