National Weather Service: Wednesday Storm Categorized As “Serial Derecho”

(Des Moines, IA) The storm that roared across Iowa Wednesday has been categorized as a derecho.  National Weather Service Meteorologist, Brook Hagenhoff, says it’s not exactly the same as the 2020 version.  This one was a “serial derecho.”  The difference is how it was formed.  She says the derecho this week had winds in the upper 80s — but was more spread out across the state.  “The derecho that we had last summer in August really had kind of that narrow area that had that very strong 100, 100 plus, 120s even as you got out toward Cedar Rapids.”  Last year’s storm had a really narrow and intense band.  The governor had issued disaster declarations for 49 of Iowa’s 99 counties by Thursday evening for damage done by the Wednesday storm.