Havoc in the Midwest Was Caused by a Rare December Derecho Windstorm
- Derechos can rip wide swaths of damage over a large area
- Winds reached up to 97 mph as storms ripped through Midwest
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Last week’s wave of thunderstorms and tornadoes that killed at least five after sweeping out of Nebraska and Kansas across the Midwest was a serial derecho, according to the National Weather Service.
Unusual for this time of year, a serial derecho shows up as a series of bow-like arcs of storms and winds embedded in a larger weather system that can cause destructive and dangerous conditions. Last week’s storm blasted winds up to 97 miles (156 kilometers) per hour across Nebraska and tornadoes were reported in Minnesota, while the storm set a record for the number of 75 mph winds or higher recorded across the central U.S., the Storm Prediction Center said.