A line of violent weather raced over 300 miles from Nebraska to Minnesota, leaving a trail of destruction across the Mid-West. Derechos are rare events, but one occurred in Iowa in the late summer of 2020. According to the National Weather Service, the storm's high winds “uprooted trees, downed wires, flattened fences, blew off shingles and even peeled off entire roofs in some instances. Numerous sheds and barns were destroyed” according to the National Weather Service.
A violent complex of storms roared through the Upper Midwest on Thursday evening, unleashing destructive wind gusts over 100 mph while stirring up a towering wall of dust.
The National Weather Service received more than 200 reports of damaging winds from Kansas to Wisconsin — but the most severe damage focused in a corridor from eastern Nebraska into southwest Minnesota, including eastern South Dakota and northwest Iowa. Significant structural damage was reported in this zone and about 70,000 people were without power Thursday evening.
The dust cloud swept up by the storm produced scenes reminiscent of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Technically called a “haboob,” it swallowed entire communities as the storm complex, racing northeast at breakneck speeds of 65 to 85 mph, turned day into night.
Producing widespread damage along an extensive path, the storm complex met the criteria of a derecho — the meteorological term for an arcing, fast-moving line of violent storms whose damage can be comparable to a hurricane.
The storm complex was fueled by a sprawling heat dome responsible for setting record highs from Texas to Maine. The hottest temperatures — relative to normal — focused in the Upper Midwest. The storms erupted as this hot air was met by much cooler air encroaching from the northwest.
As with the violent thunderstorm and tornado outbreaks in December, the intensity of this event raises questions about the possible role of human-caused climate change. The December outbreaks were similarly fueled by record-breaking temperatures which climate change makes more probable.
The top wind speed was 107 mph. I’m scared of what summer will bring.