Strong Wind — O'brien, Iowa

2025-12-18 · O'brien, Iowa

Event narrative

Sustained northwest winds occasionally reached 30 to 39 mph with a gust as high as 54 mph at Sheldon.

Wider weather episode

Intensifying low pressure moved across North Dakota and northern Minnesota early on December 18th. A very strong cold front plowed southward behind the system and was accompanied by a minimal amount of snowfall over several hours during the later morning and afternoon hours. While most snowfall was limited to a half inch to inch at most, increasing collocation of the snow and strong wind east of Interstate 29 resulted in areas of blizzard or near blizzard conditions across parts of southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa. Several injury accidents were reported across northwest Iowa with the Department of Transportation advising no travel for several hours in the afternoon. The high winds also produced some spotty power outages. Numerous schools delayed release to allow for conditions to improve.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1307578. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.