The derecho that rolled through Iowa and other areas of the Midwest August 10 racked up $7.5 billion in damages, according to an assessment released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
“A powerful derecho traveled from southeast South Dakota to Ohio, a path of 770 miles in 14 hours producing widespread winds greater than 100 mph,” NOAA said in a description of the event, with Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana and Ohio the most-affected states.
“This derecho caused widespread damage to millions of acres of corn and soybean crops across central Iowa,” NOAA said. “There was also severe damage to homes, businesses and vehicles particularly in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In addition, there were 15 tornadoes across northeastern Illinois several affecting the Chicago metropolitan area.”
The NOAA analysis indicated that the damages from Hurricane Sally, western/central droughts and heatwave and western wildfires are yet to be determined with damages from Hurricane Laura put at $14.0 billion.