A rare hurricane-like, 100 mph storm left more than a million people without power on Monday as devastation swept across much of the Midwest – hitting Chicago as it recovered from a night of chaos and widespread looting.
The derecho – which has the power of a hurricane but hangs over a much wider area – placed houses and clad over cars as it spent several hours leaving a trail of damage from eastern Nebraska over Iowa and parts of Wisconsin and Illinois.
As of Monday night, PowerOutage.us reported more than 1.1 million people without power due to the storm – with more than 570,000 in Illinois.
“It went up pretty quickly,” said Patrick Marsh, head of science support at the National Water Service’s Storm Prediction Center.
“I don’t think one expected widespread winds approaching 100, 110 mph,” he said.
A derecho often causes more damage than even a tornado, because it can hover in one place and its high winds can hit a much larger area, Marsh said.
Winds of 100 mph can reach “20, 30, 40 if God forbid, 100 miles,” he said.
What happened Monday morning was the result of unstable, very humid air that had parked over the northern plains for days – culminating in a derecho.
“They are basically self-sustaining amebas of thunderstorms,” Gensini said. “Once they go to battle like in Iowa, it’s really hard to stop these suckers.”
He compared it to a devastating 2009 Super Derecho, which was one of the strongest on record and traveled more than 1,000 miles in 24 hours, causing $ 500 million in damage, widespread power outages and killing a handful of people.
“This is our version of a hurricane,” said Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini, who said it was one of the strongest in recent history and predicted that it would be one of the worst weather events of the nation of 2020 would prove.
When Chicago recovered from its depressing night of looting, residents were warned by the winds of the Office National Service to reach 80 to 90 mph.
‘This is a very dangerous line of storms. . . . Stay away from windows and head inside as soon as you walk to tall buildings, ”warned the service.
“Make preparations NOW, do not wait for the storms.”
The city experienced its hardest wind at 4pm with a 72 mph gust recorded at Midway airport.
The National Water Service tweeted that “much of northern Illinois has bushes of damage with fallen trees, debris and power lines blocking highways” after the worst was over.
After lightning struck Chicago, the storm moved eastward, and a heavy thunderstorm covered much of southwestern Michigan and northern Indiana until midnight.
A flood warning was issued for Lake Michigan over fears that the derecho would generate large waves and push water ashore.
Several people were injured and widespread property damage was reported in Marshall County in central Iowa after 100 mph winds blew through the area, said homeland security coordinator Kim Elder.
Alder said winds blew over trees, cars overturned, driving currents downhill, traffic signs were torn up and roofs of buildings were torn, some of which caused fires.
“We had quite a few people trapped in buildings and cars,” Elder said, adding that the extent of the injuries was unknown and no deaths were reported. “We are currently in life-saving mode.”
Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer declared a civil emergency shelter, telling residents to stay home and off the streets so first responders could answer conversations.
Roof damage to homes and buildings was reported in several Iowa cities, including the roof of a hockey arena in Des Moines.
In photos showed semi-trailers running or blowing across the major roads.
Midina energy company spokeswoman Tina Hoffman said fallen trees made it difficult to find workers in some locations. In some cases, power line poles were cut out.
“It’s a lot of tree damage. Very high wind. It will be a major effort to get through everything and get everyone back on track, ‘Hoffman said. “It was a big front that went through the state.”
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, had “both significant and widespread damage throughout the city,” said Greg Buelow, a public safety spokesman. Tens of thousands of people in the metro area were without power.
“We have damaged homes and businesses, including siding and roofs,” he said. “Trees and streamlines run through the entire city.”
Cedar Rapids released a 10-hour room Monday night that will continue until further notice, as crews worked to clear falling pounds.
The power outages were particularly alarming given the high temperatures in the region.
With people with medical conditions – exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic – “it’s getting pretty fast,” Marsh said.
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