A strong cold front moved across the region late in the night of October 25th into the morning hours of October 26th. The winds switched to the northwest behind the front and a couple of hours after sunrise on the 26th began to increase rapidly. By the late morning hours, the wind speeds were sustained between 20 and 35 mph with higher gusts. Widespread wind gust of 40 mph or higher were common for locations mainly west of Interstate 94 in central Wisconsin with gusts a little over 60 mph occurring from northeast Iowa west and south across Iowa as well as into central and southwest Minnesota. These wind gusts caused a few power outages and a little bit of damage for areas west of the Mississippi river, while more widespread power outages and damage occurred with the 60 mph wind gusts. In the local area, the highest recorded wind gust was 63 mph at St. Ansgar, Iowa. The highest recorded gust for this event in Iowa was 68 mph at Ventura in the north central part of the state and at Windsor Heights, just outside of Des Moines. In Minnesota, the highest recorded speed was 67 mph from a road sensor near Marietta in the far western part of the state.

Wind Reports From The Local Area:

...HIGHEST WINDS SORTED BY GUSTS FOR SUNDAY OCTOBER 26...

STATION            COUNTY     TIME      SPEED   GUST

SAINT ANSGAR       MITCHELL                     63 MPH
NEW HAMPTON RWIS   CHICKASAW   302 PM   49 MPH  56 MPH
AUSTIN AWOS        MOWER       1115 AM  31 MPH  52 MPH
DODGE CENTER AWOS  DODGE       1014 AM  29 MPH  51 MPH
ARCADIA HILL RWIS  TREMPEALEAU 1110 AM  24 MPH  49 MPH
KELLOGG RWIS       WABASHA     149 PM   31 MPH  49 MPH
ST CHARLES 4W RWIS OLMSTED     1126 AM  36 MPH  49 MPH
ROCHESTER ASOS     OLMSTED     1054 AM  26 MPH  47 MPH
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN   CRAWFORD    115 PM   23 MPH  46 MPH
CANTON RWIS        FILLMORE    1159 AM  30 MPH  45 MPH
LA CROSSE ASOS     LA CROSSE   153 PM   28 MPH  45 MPH
NWS LA CROSSE      LA CROSSE   1219 PM  20 MPH  45 MPH
PRESTON AWOS       FILLMORE    958 AM   23 MPH  45 MPH
MOUNT STERLING 1S  CRAWFORD    207 PM   24 MPH  43 MPH
BOSCOBEL ASOS      GRANT       1253 PM  14 MPH  41 MPH
DECORAH 2SE RWIS   WINNESHIEK  114 PM   35 MPH  40 MPH
SPARTA AWOS        MONROE      115 PM   20 MPH  38 MPH
WINONA AWOS        WINONA      153 PM   22 MPH  38 MPH
PDC RWIS - MISS RV CRAWFORD    1206 PM  20 MPH  37 MPH
DICKEYVILLE RWIS   GRANT       102 PM   20 MPH  37 MPH
DECORAH AWOS       WINNESHIEK  235 PM   18 MPH  37 MPH
MEDFORD AWOS       TAYLOR      1115 AM  20 MPH  37 MPH
VOLK FIELD         JUNEAU      1255 PM  20 MPH  37 MPH
3N LA CRESCENT APRSHOUSTON     303 PM           36 MPH
I-90 AT I-94 RWIS  JUNEAU      205 PM   22 MPH  36 MPH
WISC DELLS AWOS    SAUK        1055 AM  18 MPH  35 MPH
MAUSTON APRS       JUNEAU      1104 AM  16 MPH  33 MPH
OELWEIN AWOS       FAYETTE     915 AM   22 MPH  33 MPH
NECEDAH RAWS       JUNEAU      1148 AM  17 MPH  32 MPH
TOMAH 4N RWIS      MONROE      106 PM   20 MPH  31 MPH
DIAMOND LAKE RAWS  TAYLOR      1114 AM  16 MPH  31 MPH
CHARLES CITY AWOS  FLOYD       855 AM   21 MPH  31 MPH
5W TOMAH RWIS      MONROE      1108 AM  10 MPH  30 MPH
STANLEY 1 SE RWIS  CHIPPEWA    1122 AM  20 MPH  30 MPH
CALEDONIA RWIS     HOUSTON     921 AM   10 MPH  29 MPH
FRENCH ISLAND RWIS LA CROSSE   105 PM   8 MPH   29 MPH
BLACK RIVER FALLS RAWS JACKSON 115 PM 12 MPH 26 MPH

KEY TO OBSERVATION TYPES
AWS - SENSORS FROM AWS INCORPORATED. OFTEN LOCATED AT SCHOOLS.
RWIS - ROAD WEATHER INFORMATION SYSTEMS. LOCATED ON MAJOR ROADS AND BRIDGES.
RAWS - FIRE WEATHER OBSERVATIONS. OFTEN LOCATED IN FORESTS.
ASOS/AWOS - AVIATION WEATHER OBSERVATIONS. LOCATED AT AIRPORTS.

Damage Reports From The Local Area

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI
1256 PM CDT SUN OCT 26 2008

..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..

1100 AM NON-TSTM WND DMG CRESCO 43.37N 92.12W
10/26/2008 HOWARD IA LAW ENFORCEMENT

LINES DOWN IN CRESCO.

1156 AM NON-TSTM WND DMG CHARLES CITY 43.07N 92.68W
10/26/2008 FLOYD IA LAW ENFORCEMENT

TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN IN CHARLES CITY

1156 AM NON-TSTM WND DMG NORA SPRINGS 43.14N 93.01W
10/26/2008 FLOYD IA LAW ENFORCEMENT

LARGE TREE LIMB BLOWN DOWN ONTO HOUSE

1200 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG 1 S AUSTIN 43.66N 92.97W
10/26/2008 MOWER MN LAW ENFORCEMENT

TREES DOWN ON HIGHWAY 105 JUST SOUTH OF AUSTIN

1200 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG OSAGE 43.28N 92.81W
10/26/2008 MITCHELL IA LAW ENFORCEMENT

TREE LIMBS DOWN IN OSAGE

1200 PM NON-TSTM WND DMG BLUFFTON 43.40N 91.93W
10/26/2008 WINNESHIEK IA AMATEUR RADIO

TREES DOWN IN BLUFFTON

Wind Reports From Across The Region

...IOWA...

WINDSOR HEIGHTS......68 MPH
VENTURA..............68 MPH
MASON CITY...........62 MPH
STORM LAKE RWIS......62 MPH
DE WITT RWIS.........61 MPH
MASON CITY RWIS......61 MPH
URBANA RWIS..........61 MPH
DE SOTO RWIS.........60 MPH
SPENCER..............60 MPH
GRINNELL RWIS........59 MPH
CRESTON RWIS.........59 MPH
ANKENY RWIS..........59 MPH
WATERLOO RWIS........59 MPH
MO VALLEY RWIS.......59 MPH
DENISON RWIS.........59 MPH
ALTON RWIS...........59 MPH
CLINTON..............59 MPH
CARROLL..............59 MPH
MARSHALLTOWN RWIS....58 MPH
SIGOURNEY RWIS.......58 MPH
HANLONTOWN RWIS......58 MPH
STEAMBOAT ROCK RWIS..58 MPH
BOONE................58 MPH
DAVENPORT............58 MPH
AMES.................58 MPH
NEW HAMPTON RWIS.....56 MPH
ALGONA RWIS..........56 MPH
CARROLL RWIS.........56 MPH
DES MOINES...........56 MPH
PLAINFIELD RWIS......55 MPH
JEFFERSON RWIS.......55 MPH
SPENCER RWIS.........55 MPH
DES MOINES I-35 RWIS.55 MPH
WILLIAMS RWIS........55 MPH
SHELDON..............55 MPH
ESTHERVILLE..........55 MPH
MARSHALLTOWN.........55 MPH
OTTUMWA RWIS.........54 MPH
LE MARS..............54 MPH
MUSCATINE............54 MPH
ADAIR RWIS...........53 MPH
GRINNELL.............53 MPH
DENISON..............53 MPH
VINTON...............53 MPH
DUBUQUE..............53 MPH
IOWA CITY RWIS.......52 MPH
PELLA RWIS...........52 MPH
CANTRIL RWIS.........52 MPH
EDDYVILLE RWIS.......52 MPH
ONAWA RWIS...........52 MPH
SIBLEY RWIS..........52 MPH
DAVENPORT RWIS.......52 MPH
COLFAX RWIS..........52 MPH
PERRY................52 MPH
FORT DODGE...........52 MPH
WEBSTER CITY.........52 MPH
ANKENY...............52 MPH
OTTUMWA..............52 MPH
IOWA FALLS...........51 MPH
CEDAR RAPIDS.........51 MPH
WATERLOO.............51 MPH
SIOUX CITY...........51 MPH
IOWA CITY............50 MPH
HARLAN...............50 MPH

...MINNESOTA...

MARIETTA 5S RWIS.....67 MPH
DOVRAY RWIS..........65 MPH
I-90 MILEPOST 35.....62 MPH
BLUE EARTH RWIS......61 MPH
HENDRICKS RWIS.......61 MPH
MN 71 MILEPOST 43....61 MPH
WORTHINGTON..........61 MPH
HANLEY FALLS RWIS....60 MPH
I-90 MILEPOST 67.....60 MPH
LAKE BENTON RWIS.....60 MPH
SLAYTON..............60 MPH
FAIRMONT.............60 MPH
MADISON..............59 MPH
MADELIA RWIS.........58 MPH
WINDOM...............58 MPH
REDWOOD FALLS........58 MPH
MARSHALL.............58 MPH
TWIN LAKES RWIS......56 MPH
ALEXANDRIA...........56 MPH
CANBY................56 MPH
PIPESTONE............56 MPH
MANKATO..............56 MPH
GLENWOOD.............55 MPH
MORRIS...............55 MPH
ORTONVILLE...........55 MPH
BYRON RWIS...........54 MPH
WINTHROP RWIS........54 MPH
WASECA...............54 MPH
MONTEVIDEO...........54 MPH
APPLETON.............54 MPH
ALEXANDRIA RWIS......53 MPH
OWATONNA.............52 MPH
LUVERNE..............52 MPH
AUSTIN...............52 MPH
MOORHEAD.............52 MPH
WHEATON..............52 MPH
OLIVIA...............52 MPH
GRANITE FALLS........52 MPH
NEW PRAGUE RWIS......52 MPH
ST. JAMES............52 MPH
JACKSON..............51 MPH
ALBERT LEA...........51 MPH
TRACY................51 MPH
DODGE CENTER.........51 MPH
HALLOCK..............51 MPH
GRAND FORKS RWIS.....51 MPH
MN-7 MILEPOST 1 RWIS.51 MPH
NEW ULM..............50 MPH
BENSON...............50 MPH
OTTERTAIL RWIS.......50 MPH
ANTHONY RWIS.........50 MPH
DEXTER RWIS..........50 MPH
ALBERT LEA RWIS......50 MPH
I-90 MILEPOST 226....50 MPH

...WISCONSIN...

SULLIVAN NWS.........54 MPH
MINERAL POINT........53 MPH
ARCADIA RWIS.........48 MPH
MONROE RWIS..........46 MPH
KENOSHA..............46 MPH
LONE ROCK............46 MPH
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN.....46 MPH
NWS LA CROSSE........46 MPH
LA CROSSE ...........45 MPH
MOUNT STERLING RWIS..44 MPH
PLATTEVILLE..........43 MPH
MONROE...............43 MPH
JANESVILLE...........41 MPH
WAUKESHA.............40 MPH