Powerful dust storm grows into another NE, IA, SD, MN derecho

Photo: Fox News Weather - Shawn Hinnant, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

(Omaha, NE) -- Another Midwest storm is being classified as a derecho.

The storm system meets the definition of a derecho: Wind gusts of at least 58 miles an hour, it traveled more than 240 miles, and was at least 60 miles wide.

"It covered much of North Central and Northeastern Nebraska, then up into Southeastern South Dakota, Northwestern Iowa, and then moved up into Minnesota." National Weather Service Meteorologist Bryon Miller tells iHeartMedia 247 Radio News.

The storm started as a massive dust cloud with 85 mile an hour winds that blew semi trucks off Interstate-80 near Aurora, in South Central Nebraska, creating sudden blackout conditions

As the dust became part of a thunderstorm system, there were 70 mile an hour winds and half-dollar size hail just north of Omaha later that night.

When the storm system reached South Dakota, seen in the Fox News Weather photo above by Shawn Hinnant, the winds were measured at 107 miles an hour.

There was a derecho on December 15, 2021 that spawned a record number of tornadoes through Nebraska and Iowa. Another derecho in 2020 started around Omaha with 60 mile an hour winds and hit Cedar Rapids, Iowa with top winds of 141 miles an hour. 97-percent of Cedar Rapids was left without power, and the City lost about 1,000 homes and 50-percent of its trees in the storm.


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