High Wind — Dickinson, Iowa

2025-03-19 · Dickinson, Iowa

Event narrative

Sustained winds occasionally reached 25 to 30 mph during the daylight hours. A peak wind gust of 59 mph was recorded at 1335 CST by a private weather station near Lake Park and a 58 mph gust was recorded at 0754 CST by a private weather station 1 mile north-northeast of Wahpeton.

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 1249512. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.