All articles tagged with #derecho
A violent August derecho left northwestern Indiana without power for days, with about 9,000 Gary customers still dark on Aug. 23 as officials decry the slow restoration; Gov. Braun and Gary Mayor Melton urged faster action while NIPSCO has mobilized extra crews and mutual aid, with peak outages reaching roughly 374,500.
Indiana is enduring an 11th day without power after storms toppled trees and power lines, with 33,124 customers still affected and Gary among the hardest-hit areas awaiting restoration. Officials say progress has been made but outages can spike again, while a proposed class-action accuses NIPSCO of inadequate vegetation management. Gov. Braun has requested expedited FEMA disaster assistance for 54 counties, and a federal emergency declaration is in place, providing relief options including grants up to $5,000 for affected residents.
Chicago is forecast for three more days of storm chances, bringing heavy rain, hail and gusty winds up to 60 mph. The southern suburbs are expected to take the heaviest rainfall (possibly over three inches) as a weather system moves through after a damaging derecho, with additional storms possible Friday and Saturday.
Five tornadoes touched down in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana during a Tuesday derecho, pushing the 2026 Chicago-area tornado total to 70—the most on record since records began— with twisters ranging EF-0 to EF-2 (including Oswego, Wilmington, eastern Will County near Monee-Crete-St. John, southern Cook/Will County border near Orland Park–Munster, and Mokena/Tinley Park). National Weather Service surveys confirmed all five, amid widespread wind damage across the region; one Orland Park animal hospital reported temporary closure due to storm damage. The previous annual record was 63 tornadoes in 2024.
A powerful derecho that began in eastern Iowa swept through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky on Aug. 11 with gusts near 100 mph, causing widespread damage and more than a million power outages; the storm produced EF-1 tornadoes in Delaware County, led to at least one death in Indiana, and prompted emergency declarations and National Guard assistance.
A suspected home explosion in Portage, Indiana during a severe storm left one person dead and leveled the residence, as emergency responders faced debris and hazardous conditions amid widespread storm damage and power outages. Authorities are investigating the cause, with roads blocked and response times extended; residents were asked to stay home, and Portage declared an emergency while schools canceled classes due to the destruction and ongoing recovery efforts.
Central Ohio continues storm recovery after Aug. 11’s widespread damage, which the Weather Service preliminarily classed as a derecho with winds up to 82 mph. About 135,000 customers lost power at the peak, and roughly 76,000 remained without power as of Aug. 12; restoration is targeted for noon Aug. 13 in southwest Columbus and Aug. 14 in other areas. Officials warned residents about scam contractors exploiting recovery, urging written estimates and payment by credit card. First responders handled a record volume of calls (about 1,100) plus 1,800 to the 311 center, with Columbus dispatching all police and fire units at once but reporting no city injuries. Flooding forced evacuations in Muskingum and Perry counties, and emergency declarations were issued there. A lightning strike at the Grafton Correctional Institution left 7 inmates hospitalized (16 initially). Weather officials noted radar can miss tornadoes; while some damage resembled straight-line winds rather than a tornado. Cleanup efforts continued in suburbs with new damage maps and debris programs.
National Weather Service confirms three EF-1 tornadoes from Tuesday’s Chicago-area derecho, with damage in southern Cook and eastern Will counties and in northeast Will County; two tornadoes crossed into northwest Indiana (St. John and Munster). The fast-moving system produced near-100 mph winds, caused widespread damage, and left hundreds of thousands without power across northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, prompting sheltering actions at venues like Navy Pier.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch through 9 p.m. for the Chicago area as a second round of storms could bring up to 80 mph winds, hail and flash flooding, following Wednesday’s derecho that toppled trees and knocked out power citywide; crews are cleaning up and residents are urged to monitor updates, with a flood watch in effect through Thursday night and the possibility of tornadoes if storms touch down.
A powerful windstorm swept across 61 Ohio counties with gusts up to 70 mph, causing widespread outages and the worst grid damage in over a decade (the 2012 derecho). By Saturday, outage counts fluctuated from roughly 228,000 to 304,813, with tens of thousands still without power in Franklin County and across central Ohio; around 80,000 had been restored earlier. More than 2,700 crews were in the field, with additional teams en route, focusing on areas like the Canal Winchester substation as restoration continues around the clock to bring every customer back online.
A dangerous derecho with wind gusts over 75 mph is expected to form in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest, particularly affecting South Dakota and Minnesota, bringing severe storms, hail, tornadoes, and potential flash flooding.
Severe thunderstorms with potential hurricane-force winds and a possible derecho are threatening the Northern U.S. Plains, especially South Dakota and Minnesota, bringing risks of damaging winds, hail, tornadoes, and flash flooding amid extreme heat conditions.
Michigan is expected to experience a typical severe thunderstorm season this July due to a textbook weather pattern involving a hot dome of air to the south and a strong jetstream, leading to organized storm clumps every few days, with the potential for severe thunderstorms and derechos, especially around July 19, 2025.
The National Weather Service warns of a potential derecho with winds up to 105 mph impacting North Dakota and Minnesota overnight, with upgraded severe risk levels, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and flash floods expected in the region.
A powerful derecho storm swept through the Midwest on Monday night, causing widespread damage with hurricane-force winds and multiple tornadoes, particularly around Chicago. The storm left over 350,000 customers without power and resulted in at least one fatality in Indiana. The National Weather Service reported significant damage, including toppled trees, damaged homes, and disrupted air travel at Chicago's major airports.