IOWA CITY, Iowa – A rare storm that grabbed 100 mph winds and struck like a domestic hurricane Monday across the Midwest, blowing over trees, overturning cars, causing widespread damage to property and leaving hundreds of thousands without power when it went through Chicago and into Indiana and Michigan.
The storm, known as a derecho, lasted several hours as it swept from eastern Nebraska over Iowa and parts of Wisconsin and Illinois, had the wind speed of a major hurricane, and probably caused more widespread damage than a normal tornado, said Patrick Marsh, scientist. support chief at the Storm Prediction Center of the National Water Service in Norman, Oklahoma.
In northern Illinois, the National Weather Service reported a 92 mph vine near Dixon, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Chicago, and the storm caused trees and power lines to fall, blocking roads in Chicago and its suburbs. After leaving Chicago, the most powerful part of the storm system moved late afternoon over north-central Indiana.
“The storm system as a whole is just beginning to decay,” said Meteorology professor Victor Gensini of Northern Illinois University.
A derecho is not quite a hurricane. It has no eye and its wind comes over in a line. But the damage it is likely to spread over such a large area is more like a domestic hurricane than a rapid, powerful tornado, Marsh said. 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,” Gensini said in an interview from his home about 15 minutes before the storm was about to hit. Minutes later, he went to his basement for safety, when the storm was directed at Chicago, beginning with his suburbs.
Gensini said this derecho will go down as one of the strongest in recent history and will be one of the nation’s worst watersheds by 2020.
“It Stopped Ridiculously Fast” at 7 p.m. Central Time in Eastern Nebraska. I do not think one would expect widespread winds approaching 100, 110 mph, ”Marsh said.
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.
She said the wind blew over trees, smashed traffic signs off the ground and ripped roofs off buildings.
“We had quite a few people stuck in buildings and cars,” she said. She said the extent of injuries is not known and that no deaths have been reported.
Alder said some people reported that their cars overturned from the wind, with power lines falling on them and being injured when they were hit by flying debris. Dozens of cars at one factory had blown out their windshields. Buildings were also set on fire, she said.
“We are currently in life-saving mode,” Elder said.
Marshalltown Mayor Joel Greer declared a civil emergency shelter, telling residents to stay home and off the streets so first responders can respond to calls.
MidAmerican Energy said nearly 101,000 customers in the Des Moines area were without power after the storm passed through the area. Reports from spotters submitted to the National Water Service in Des Moines had winds of more than 70 mph.
Roof damage to homes and buildings was reported in several Iowa cities, including the roof of a hockey arena in Des Moines.
In the state, large trees fell on cars and houses. Some semi-trailers rolled over as if blown off large roads.
Farmers reported that some grain bins were destroyed and fields were razed, but the extent of damage to Iowa’s agricultural sector was not immediately clear.
Mid-America spokeswoman Tina Hoffman said fallen trees in some locations made it difficult for workers to reach the power lines. In some cases, power line poles were cut out.
“It’s a lot of tree damage. Very high wind. It will be an important effort to get everything through and get everyone back on track, ‘she said. “It was a big front that went through the state.”
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has “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 work to clean up fallen debris.
What makes a derecho less than a tornado is how long it can hover in one place and how large an area the high wind blows, Marsh said. He said winds of 80 mph or even 100 mph could strike for “20, 30, 40 if God forbid 100 miles.”
“Right now, it’s making a beeline for Chicago,” Marsh said Monday afternoon. “Whether it will keep its intensity if not it comes to Chicago remains to be seen.”
But the environmental conditions between the storm and Chicago are the type that the storm is unlikely to reduce, Marsh said. It will likely disappear across central as well as eastern Indiana, he said.
What happened is unstable super humid air has parked on the northern plains for days and Monday morning definitely stepped into 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.”
Derechoes, with winds of at least 58 mph, occur about once a year in the Midwest. Rare as tornadoes, but with weaker winds, derechoes produce damage over a much wider area.
The storms swept across parts of eastern Nebraska for 9 a.m. in the morning, throwing heavy rain and high winds. Strong winds pushed south in areas that include Lincoln and Omaha, said meteorologist National Weather Service Brian Barjenbruch.
“Once the rain-cooled air hit the ground, it plunged more than 100 miles, sending incredibly strong winds over the area,” Barjenbruch said.
Omaha Public Power District reported more than 55,500 powerless customers in Omaha and surrounding communities.
The Marsh of the Water Service said there is a major concern about power outages that will spread across several states and last a long time. Add high heat, people with medical conditions needing power and the pandemic, “it’s getting pretty fast.”
——
Borenstein reported from Kensington, Maryland. AP Reporter David Pitt in Des Moines and Sara Burnett in Chicago contributed.
.
