Two Derechos Struck the Midwest In 48 Hours | Weather.com (2024)

Two Derechos Struck the Midwest In 48 Hours | Weather.com (1)

At a Glance

  • Derechos are widespread, damaging wind events from clusters of severe thunderstorms.
  • Two of them struck parts of the nation's mid-section, first on Saturday night, then again Monday.
  • They're capable of downing trees, damaging structures and knocking out power.
  • They can also spawn tornadoes along their leading edges.

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T​wo derechos struck parts of the Midwest and Northern Plains over the past three days, including the Chicago metro area, illustrating the danger of these severe thunderstorm events.

W​hat is a derecho? A derecho is a large cluster of thunderstorms that most commonly forms in late spring and summer. From the Spanish word for "straight," these windstorms leave widespread swaths of straight-line wind damage. The winds can be as strong as 100 mph or higher in extreme cases.

A​ derecho's power and impact is from its size. While a typical tornado can leave a damage path up to a mile wide and tens of miles long, a derecho can do so over a swath more than 60 miles wide and hundreds of miles long over multiple states.

M​onday's Midwest derecho: A line of severe thunderstorms formed in central and eastern Iowa in the afternoon, then raced east-southeast into extreme southern Wisconsin and Illinois through the evening before ending up in northern and central Indiana late Monday night.

T​here were well over 100 reports of high wind gusts and wind damage, including two gusts over 100 mph near Camp Grove (105 mph) and Davis Junction, Illinois (101 mph). Other notable gusts included 97 mph in Holy Cross, Iowa; 84 mph in Footville, Wisconsin; and 75 mph at both Chicago's O'Hare Airport and on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

(​MORE: Impacts, News From Chicago, Midwest Derecho)

S​aturday night's Plains derecho: Just two days before the Midwest event, a derecho swept through parts of eastern Montana into extreme southwestern North Dakota and South Dakota Saturday night.

A​mong the more than 100 reports of high winds and wind damage were three separate gusts over 100 mph, including a 109 mph gust in Stanley County, South Dakota, and an 84 mph wind gust at Pierre Regional Airport.

(​MORE: Further beef up your forecast with our detailed, hour-by-hour breakdown for the next 8 days – only available on our Premium Pro experience.)

Two Derechos Struck the Midwest In 48 Hours | Weather.com (2)

A​ Derecho's Dangers

A 2005 study by Walker Ashley and Thomas Mote found derechos claimed 153 lives in the U.S. during an 18-year period from 1986 through 2003.

Almost 70% of derecho fatalities occurred in areas other than a permanent building, including in vehicles (30%), in boats (19%), under trees (11%) and camping (9%).

D​owned Trees

Derecho winds are strong enough to down or even uproot trees, which can then fall onto homes, vehicles, tents or RVs and block roads.

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I​n the July 15 Midwest derecho, a tree fell onto a home in northwest Indiana, killing one person. Three people were injured by falling trees in Miles City, Montana, in the July 13 derecho.

Structural Damage

As we alluded to earlier, peak wind gusts in derechos can match those in EF1, even EF2 tornadoes. Winds that high are capable of damaging buildings and structures, even without knocking trees down. Large hail whipped by high winds can smash windows and obliterate a home's siding.

Saturday night's derecho blew a roof off a home near Miles City, Montana, and bent a hotel sign to the ground in central South Dakota.

Tornadoes

Tornadoes can form quickly along the leading edge of a derecho or squall line of severe thunderstorms. Monday's derecho spawned over 30 tornadoes from Iowa to northern Indiana.

W​hile it may not have been a tornado, you can visualize the potential in a spectacular timelapse (shown below) posted by Walker Ashley as the derecho blew through Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, Monday night. Note the rotation near the cloud base toward the end of the timelapse.

P​ower Outages

I​f you're lucky enough not to suffer any damage from a derecho, chances are you'll at least lose electricity.

These widespread, damaging winds can not only down trees onto power lines, but can also snap power poles and even down high-transmission towers.

T​hat can knock out power to hundreds of thousands, if not a million customers or more. And when a derecho happens in summer, that can leave those customers without power during lingering heat.

In the worst derecho events, relief workers from other states sometimes are needed to aid in these efforts due to the scope of damage and outages.

T​he Aug. 10, 2020, derecho in the Midwest caused an estimated $13.3 billion in damage as it raked across parts of eight states. Power was knocked out to almost 2 million homes and businesses. Some didn't have their power restored for weeks.

Two Derechos Struck the Midwest In 48 Hours | Weather.com (3)

H​ere's what you can do: As with any severe weather situation, planning ahead and staying informed are key.

  • Know where you'll seek safe shelter if a National Weather Service warning is issued. This should be on the lowest floor, in a basement, if possible, away from doors and windows.
  • If you live in a mobile or manufactured home, find either a sturdy building or community shelter ahead of time and know how to reach it quickly. A derecho's strongest winds can heavily damage or blow over a mobile home.
  • Have multiple ways of receiving NWS warnings, including by smartphone and from NOAA weather radio. These are two sources that can also wake you if a warning is issued while you're sleeping, as derechos can happen at night. Make sure each is charged fully before the storms arrive.
  • Move to shelter immediately when a warning is issued, including both severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings. Treat a severe thunderstorm warning as seriously as a tornado warning, especially one that mentions "damaging winds".

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. His lifelong love of meteorology began with a close encounter with a tornado as a child in Wisconsin. He completed a Bachelor's degree in physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then a Master's degree working with dual-polarization radar and lightning data at Colorado State University. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on X (formerly Twitter), Threads, Facebook and Bluesky.

Two Derechos Struck the Midwest In 48 Hours | Weather.com (2024)

FAQs

What is a derecho in weather? ›

According to the National Weather Service, a derecho is a widespread, long-lived wind storm associated with rapidly moving showers and thunderstorms. A derecho can cause wind speeds typically seen in tornadoes, but does so in one direction along a “straight swath,” according to the NWS.

Where was the Midwest derecho? ›

CHICAGO – A destructive derecho hit the Midwest on Monday night, tearing through parts of Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. WHAT IS A DERECHO? Tragically, a 44-year-old woman was killed when a tree fell on her home in Cedar Lake, Indiana.

How long do derecho winds last? ›

A derecho-producing convective system may remain active for many hours and, occasionally, over multiple days.

What to do during a derecho storm? ›

Lie flat and face-down on low ground, protecting the back of your head with your arms. If possible, avoid trees; even relatively small branches can become lethal when blown by storm winds.

Is a derecho worse than a tornado? ›

Rarely, long-track tornadoes can go hundreds of miles. A derecho, on the other hand, travels 400 miles or more. The swath of damage must also be 60 miles wide or more. 2 This is a large area, especially when compared to the much smaller individual thunderstorm cells or typical tornadoes.

How rare is a derecho storm? ›

They are impressive to see both on the ground and from the sky. Derechos are most common in the Midwestern United States, but are still fairly rare. You might see a derecho about once a year there. They can occasionally be found all the way up into the Northeast.

Is derecho a natural disaster? ›

Derechos are not “inland hurricanes” or very large tornadoes; they are a distinct weather phenomenon and should be treated as such. Yet, many people are unaware of their risk because derechos are such rare events. Fund building code changes and support structural improvement.

Where is a derecho most likely to happen? ›

Derechos in the United States most commonly occur along two axes. One extends along the "Corn Belt" from the upper Mississippi Valley southeast into the Ohio Valley, and the other from the southern Plains northeast into the mid Mississippi Valley (figure below).

Is a derecho a land hurricane? ›

Derechos are often referred to as inland hurricanes because of the winds that exceed 74-mph (hurricane criteria) and extreme rainfall. From a purely meteorological standpoint, that is where the similarities end. Recently, strong storms here in Georgia caused wind damage.

What kind of damage is most common with a derecho? ›

Although a derecho can produce destruction similar to that of a tornado, the damage typically occurs in one direction along a relatively straight path. As a result, the term "straight-line wind damage" is sometimes used to describe derecho damage.

Is there a warning for a derecho? ›

Therefore, the NWS will issue a Severe Thunderstorm Warning if a derecho approaches your location.

Can derecho turn sky green? ›

As storms moved across the country, people witnessed a green-tinged sky. As storms moved across the country Tuesday, people in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, witnessed a rare sight – a green-tinged sky. A storm creates a green sky over southern Sioux Falls, S.D., on July 5, 2022.

What was the worst derecho in history? ›

The June 2012 Mid-Atlantic and Midwest derecho was one of the deadliest and most destructive fast-moving severe thunderstorm complexes in North American history.

Which is the safest place during strong winds? ›

The safest place to during high winds is indoors.

Postpone outdoor activities if a wind advisory or high wind warning has been issued.

When was the last derecho in the US? ›

North America
EventDate
Great Lakes serial derecho of June 2020June 10, 2020
August 2020 Midwest derechoAugust 10–11, 2020
October 2020 Northeast Serial DerechoOctober 7, 2020
December 2021 Midwest derecho and tornado outbreakDecember 15, 2021
84 more rows

Is a derecho stronger than a hurricane? ›

Derechos can pack lethal gusts in excess of 100 mph – hurricane strength – across a front stretching for many miles, and last for hours. Storms that have sustained winds of at least 58 mph and leave a path of damage at least 250 miles long qualify as derechos, according to the National Weather Service.

Can a derecho be predicted? ›

Many times, these features are very subtle and hard to predict. Therefore, a progressive derecho can quickly develop with very little warning. To put this in perspective, consider the wind damage map from above.

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