Midwest sees $11B in damage from last year’s derecho
CHICAGO — The summer derecho that rattled windows and ripped down trees across the Midwest caused an estimated $11 billion in damage, becoming the costliest storm event to occur in less than 24 hours in at least four decades.
That’s according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which this month released its annual report detailing the billion-dollar-plus weather and climate disasters to strike the United States. A record-breaking 22 disasters caused $95 billion in damage in 2020.
Last year was the sixth in a row to have 10 or more separate billion-dollar disaster events, said Adam Smith, a NOAA climatologist.
“For 2020 to have more than doubled that standard, at 22 separate billion-dollar disaster events, shattering the record of 16 events that happened in 2011 and 2017, was really breathtaking,” Smith said. “It’s hard to believe. And hopefully we won’t have a year like 2020 for many years to come.”
Starting on Aug. 10, a speedy line of storms with remarkable endurance covered 770 miles in 14 hours. Beginning in southern South Dakota and hitting gusts higher than 90 mph, the derecho flattened millions of acres of crops, tipped over semitrucks and snapped trees apart on its path toward Ohio.
Its $11 billion in damage made the derecho the second-costliest severe storm event out of 128 that met the billion-dollar mark since 1980. The only severe storm that eclipsed the derecho in cost was the southeastern tornado Super
Outbreak in 2011 that lasted for four days.
But, Smith said, “What makes the derecho interesting is that historically it produced the most damage in the least amount of time.”
The storm hit everything: homes, businesses, vehicles, the agricultural economy.
Justin Glisan, Iowa’s state climatologist, was at his Des Moines home when the storm arrived. His wife and dog headed to the basement. Before joining them, he looked out the back window.
“It was just a wall of dark,” Glisan said.
Glisan said his predecessor coined the term “derecho” at the University of Iowa, drawing from the Spanish word that can mean “straight on.”
“We can think of them as a line of self-perpetuating thunderstorms,” Glisan said.
A neighbor’s downed maple tree struck the gas main outside of the house, causing a gas leak. A fight or flight response kicked in, Glisan said, and the family ended up in a large parking lot.
“Given that we were surrounded by all these oldgrowth trees, I’m like, where can we go?” Glisan said.
They didn’t have gas or electricity for five days. Damage to the home ended up in the tens of thousands of dollars.
One of the hardest-hit areas was Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where 90% of structures were estimated to have been damaged and more than 1,000 homes destroyed, according to a NOAA report. More than 100,000 people were without power for days.
In Chicago, the derecho downed more than 550 trees in city parks alone. More than 800,000 people lost power in the Chicago area. At least 15 tornadoes were confirmed in northern Illinois and northwest Indiana.