Hello and welcome to this special blog covering the Iowa Derecho of the 10th of August 2020.
**This is an updated version of this blog which was published on the 17th October **
Last night 24th November 2020 Weather Brains podcast did an episode on the Iowa Derecho. They spoke with Meteorologist Nick Stewart at Iowa’s News Now and explains how the covered this devastating event. There experiences inside the Derecho and much more.
The next video is from inside the Derecho where winds gusted 99 mph.
NOAA ( National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration) has this month updated it billion dollar weather and climate events table with the Iowa Derecho estimated to cost $7.5 billion dollars.
This covers events from 1980 to 2020 and can be found here https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events/US/1980-2020
Below from Dakota Smith shows the Derecho moving across the usa from space.
So what is a Derecho?
NOAA officially defines a derecho as “a widespread, long-lived windstorm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms.” For a swath of storms to be classified as a derecho, it must travel at least 240 miles and move at speeds of at least 58 miles an hour, though the winds are often more powerful. The August 2020 Midwest derecho had winds up to 112 miles an hour
https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/science-and-technology/2020/08/what-is-a-derecho-and-why-is-it-so-destructive
This National Geographic article explains more https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/science-and-technology/2020/08/what-is-a-derecho-and-why-is-it-so-destructive
So the 2020 Iowa Derecho was the most expensive ever thunderstorm event for the USA.
A wind speed of 126 mph was officially recorded at Atkins Iowa with estimated wind speeds of 140 mph in some locations
Youtube footage from the event – Starts to get intense from around the 12 min point.
NOAA and the National Weather Service has an overview of the event here
https://www.weather.gov/dvn/summary_081020
Signifcant damage occured to crops and grain Silos
The capital weather gang has a full in depth analysis of this event here https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/10/17/iowa-derecho-damage-cost/
It will take a long time for Iowa to get back on its feet. The memories of this event will last a long time.
Our thoughts are with the people of Iowa as the continue to rebuild.
