A Rare Derecho Storm Ripped Through the Midwest, Leaving Devastating Damage Behind

From Prevention

• An intense derecho storm ripped through Midwestern states Monday, taking down trees and turning over cars with powerful 122 mph winds.

• A derecho is rare, but typically occurs during the summer months and presents a unique straight-lined destruction.

• The storm left more than 1 millions homes and business without power.

An unusually powerful storm ripped through several Midwestern states on Monday. While the area is accustomed to some unruly weather, this was no tornado.

This particular storm, known as a derecho, blasted its way past state lines from South Dakota to Iowa, Illinois, and parts of Ohio. It arrived in one long-lasting swoop and carried a mixture of heavy downpour and fierce winds that topped an intense 112 miles per hour, leaving more than 1 millions homes and business without power, per The Weather Channel.

The damage left behind highlights its force, with rows of destroyed homes, damaged building, toppled trees, and flattened crops. Even major cities, including the Chicago area, were impacted by the severity of the storm.

What is a derecho and what does it look like?

These rare storms can take form in the summertime when there is a combination of heat and humidity looming in the air, producing widespread rain coupled with powerful winds, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

While a derecho can produce destruction similar to a tornado (or even a hurricane), the NWS says that the storm will only show damage sweeping from one direction in a straight path, hence why crops could be seen folded and flatted to one side. This kind of impact has been coined as a “straight-line wind damage.”

So what do they look like when they form in the sky? A derecho is linked to a group of thunderstorms that form bow echos, which come together with strong winds and spread in a horizontal direction. With the ebb and flow of cool and warm air, the clouds can become more widespread and take on a gust front with bands of low clouds that look like thin, overlapping rolls in the sky. These dark, looming clouds are classified as an arcus, and can be a terrifying sight to see.

To be classified as a derecho, the storm should have wind gusts of at least 58 mph throughout most of its length, while also dishing out separated gusts of wind at 75 mph, and create damage that trails more than 250 miles, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

How often does a derecho occur?

Midwest and southern plains states are most susceptible to a storm of this magnitude from April through August, but they aren’t very common. Depending on the area, a derecho has the potential to form once a year to once every four years, per the NWS. While it is hard to predict the next event, 70% of derechos occur during the warmer seasons.

Really, all you need is favorable weather conditions for the derecho to form. This calls for both hot and humid air mixed with dangerously strong winds.

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