1997 Western Plains winter storms
Encyclopedia
The 1997 Western Plains winter storms comprised a system of extreme snow
fall and wind
from October 24 - October 26, 1997. The storms resulted in 13 deaths (five in Colorado
, two each in Nebraska
and Illinois
, and one each in Michigan
, Iowa
, Oklahoma
, and Kansas
), and caused power outages and school closings lasting up to a week in affected areas. The event was billed by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as being a "two-hundred year storm". The wind caused much damage, downing trees and power poles.
and Omaha
.
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
fall and wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
from October 24 - October 26, 1997. The storms resulted in 13 deaths (five in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, two each in Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
and Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and one each in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, and Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
), and caused power outages and school closings lasting up to a week in affected areas. The event was billed by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as being a "two-hundred year storm". The wind caused much damage, downing trees and power poles.
Effects in Nebraska
A large portion of the state received blackouts, including the southeastern portion of the state, which includes major cities LincolnLincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
and Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
.
Lincoln effects
Though the storm affected several states, the city of Lincoln received some of the most notorious damage. Power outages affected the city for several days, and school was canceled for a week. The city was said to have lost at least 100,000 trees. Records set for Lincoln as a result of the storm include:- Record Low Temperature of 8 degrees F., October 27 (old record 17 F, 1925).
- Earliest ever single digit temperature.
- Monthly snowfall total of 13.2 inches was the most recorded for any October in the 98 year data record (old record, 6.6 inches October 1970).