Powerful storm leaves 2 dead, heavy crop damage in Midwest

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By RYAN J. FOLEY and JOSH FUNK

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Hundreds of thousands across the Midwest remained without electricity on Tuesday after a powerful storm packing 100 mph winds battered the region a day earlier, causing widespread damage to millions of acres of crops and killing at least two people.

The storm known as a derecho tore from eastern Nebraska across Iowa and parts of Wisconsin and Illinois, blowing over trees, flipping vehicles and causing widespread damage to property and crops. The storm left downed trees and power lines that blocked roadways in Chicago and its suburbs. After leaving Chicago, the most potent part of the storm system moved over north central Indiana.

In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds said early estimates indicate 10 million acres (4 million hectares) have been damaged in the nation’s top corn producing state and many grain bins were destroyed. That would be nearly a third of the roughly 31 million acres (12.5 million hectares) of land farmed in the state. The most significant damage is to the corn crop, which is in the advanced stages of development nearly a month away from the beginning of harvest.

“This morning I had a farmer reach out to me to say this was the worst wind damage to crops and farm buildings that he has ever seen across the state in such a wide area,” Reynolds said.



Downed trees and other debris cover front yards in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after a powerful storm moved through Iowa on Monday, Aug. 10, 2020. (Liz Martin/The Gazette via AP)

Read more: https://apnews.com/4375acda34b2ca2a77be23b3660202da

[SheltieLover]

1. K&R!

[AllaN01Bear]

2. i read the comments on some of the youtube vids on this storm

and some of the idiotic fundies are out there in left field . 110 112 straight line winds - eep.

[BigmanPigman]

3. Wow! I saw some pictures

on MSNBC last night and k ew it was bad...but holy shit! That was like a hurricane.

[frazzled]

4. Straight line winds are as dangerous as hurricanes

We were lucky. The path seemed to pass just slightly north of us. City neighborhoods just a couple of miles away had massive damage.

[ancianita]

5. 73 trees downed in Chicago

[OnlinePoker]

6. After poor crop last year due to flooding, corn farmers looked to rebound this year

Now Iowa has had 10 million acres either damaged or destroyed. On top of that, many storage silos also collapsed in the winds.

[love_katz]

8. Kick for visibility.

Wow.

[SharonClark]

9. 40,000 still without power in Des Moines area 48 hours later.

Des Moines is an urban forest, especially the west side, and a lot of trees and power polls were downed. Lucky I got my power back after 10 hours but it's estimated some won't get power back until Saturday.