I came across a video taken at someone’s house in a neighborhood in or near Cedar Rapids, Iowa on August 10, 2020. It had already been a crappy year for earthlings, but then a derecho came through Cedar Rapids and its environs—just to add to the misery.
I couldn’t believe what I was watching.
A derecho is sometimes called a land hurricane (apparently a misnomer), as opposed to a tornado or a single-cell thunderstorm of varying intensities but relatively short duration. This was multiple thunderstorms, linear damage, heavy rain, and straight line wind speeds as high as 140 MPH. What began as a bit of benign wind through the trees eventually turned into a maelstrom of downed limbs, walls of rain blown sideways, and multiple rounds of ferocious wind.
This video began with some sort of evergreen tree bending in the front yard, but ended with it being blown over, probably uprooted, along with a yardful of branches and refuse and large downed limbs. There were vehicles parked on the street which I’m sure were damaged by falling limbs and other debris.
What struck me was the relentless nature of it. Things would quiet down for a bit, then the next round of wind and rain would arrive. This went on for a half hour or longer. I‘ve never seen anything like it. I searched for other videos of the same system and came across one where the roof on a metal building was destroyed, some of it blown away, some of it caved in on a garage and shop space, with the lone occupant/videographer holding on for dear life in a bathroom.
Damage of course was widespread—besides private property losses and extensive power outages, there were an estimated 7 million trees lost or damaged in Iowa alone; 40% of the soybean and corn crops in the state was decimated, and there were 4 deaths. This system began in Nebraska, and broke apart in Indiana, so there was a large swath of affected area.
Another unsolicited contribution to the canker sore that was 2020.
3 Cents' 