More than 1 million lose power in Upper Midwest, Chicago

A destructive derecho or fast moving violent windstorm slammed the Chicago area Monday afternoon unleashing damaging gusts that brought down trees and knocked out power. In Iowa where gusts topped 100 mph the damage was even more severe.

 

Early Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service (N.W.H) Storm Prediction Center issued a rare particularly dangerous situation severe thunderstorm watch for eastern Iowa northern Illinois extreme northwest Indiana and southern Wisconsin. It cautioned destructive wind gusts to 100 mph were possible after violent storms raked eastern Nebraska and western Iowa earlier in the day.

By Monday evening nearly 1.5 million people were without  power in the wake of the storms from eastern Nebraska through Indiana where the storms had also caused wind damage. By 8pm central time the storms had reached western Ohio but were weakening.

Iowa was hardest hit by the bowing storm complex. Several locations clocked wind gusts exceeding 100 mph while gusts between 75 and 85 mph were common. The storms intensity marginally waned as it headed east but Chicago Midway Airport clocked a gust to 73 mph.

Doppler radar indicated that storm complex stretched from Toledo to Dayton in Ohio to just west of Louisville. Compared to several hours earlier the storms had lost a great deal of intensity with the most wind gusts below levels considered severe. However thunderstorms watches remained in effect from western Ohio curling back through western Kentucky into extreme southeast Missouri through midnight.

Chicago experienced its most severe winds around 4 pm when in addition to the 72 mph gust at Midway O`hare International Airport saw a 62 mph gust and a wind gust to 85 mph was recorded by a Weather Bug station in Lincoln Square Chicago.

The Weather Service tweeted that much of northern Illinois has pockets of damage with downed trees debris and power lines blocking roadways after the worst had passed.

Even in the storms wake the Weather Service warned of the potential for additional damaging gusts lasting another hour of two around Chicago issuing a high wind warning until 7 pm for lingering gusts to 55 to 65 mph.

After passing Chicago the storms bolted through much of northern Indiana and southern Michigan. On the eastern shores of Lake Michigan in southwest Michigan the derecho was predicted to generate large waves and push water ashore prompting a lakeshore flood warning.