Monday, June 30, 2014

Derecho Hits Chicago And Milwaukee: 1 Dead, Several More Injured in Iowa

June 30, 2014
A derecho swept from the Midwest to the western Great Lakes Monday, bringing hurricane-force wind gusts, reported tornadoes and heavy rain into Iowa and Nebraska. The storms are blamed for one death just southwest of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where police say a man was trapped inside a collapsed building.
Several people were injured during a minor league baseball game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids when they were trying to put the tarp over the field, according to KCRG.com.
(MORE: What Is a Derecho?)
Below is a state-by-state rundown of the areas already affected by this severe weather outbreak.
(MORE: Track the Severe Threat As It Moves East)

Illinois

Flights were cancelled at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway International airports and Commonwealth Edison reports electric power to thousands was disrupted by a derecho that moved across the area Monday afternoon.
A second line of strong storms prompted the National Weather Service to impose a severe thunderstorm watch until 3 a.m. Tuesday for Illinois, including Cook, Peoria and Kankakee counties.
Hundreds of flights at Midway and O'Hare were canceled or delayed by Monday's storm, as were trains operated by the Metra commuter rail service.
The storm also forced postponement of Monday's Angels-White Sox game in Chicago.

Iowa

Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner told The Weather Channel the powerful storms hit Interment Technologies in Fairfax, just southwest of Cedar Rapids, around 3 p.m. A male employee was trapped inside and died.
Violent 80 mph winds left more than 95,000 customers without power. CBS 2 in Cedar Rapids says the storms left damage in "just about every neighborhood." Images show large tress down on homes and vehicles, as well as entire structures blown over.

Tiffany O'Donnell/Twitter
Violent winds brought trees down onto this vehicle in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Several employees and stadium volunteers were hurt during a minor league baseball game in Cedar Rapids. KCRG. com reports they were trying to roll the tarp over the field when the wind knocked people onto the ground and then pushed the tarp on top of them. At least three reportedly sustained concussions while the assistant general manager dislocated his shoulder.
In the community of North Liberty, which is northwest of Iowa City, at least one person was hospitalized when the person was trapped under a tree. No word yet on the severity of those injuries.
KCRG reports that rescue crews in Cedar Rapids were scouring a storm drain after two teens were swept away by flood waters. One of the teens was able to escape. The other remained missing Monday night. 
Earlier in the day, a possible tornado was reported near Stuart. Damage to houses and other buildings were also reported in Warren County as storms moved through the area.
Officials say there have been reports of golf ball-size hail and wind gusts of up to 70 mph. There are no reports of injuries.
On Monday, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located four miles southeast of Earlham and nine miles east of Roland. Additional information was not available, and there are no reports of injuries.
Gov. Terry Branstad has issued a disaster proclamation for Adair, Cedar, Guthrie, Jones and Linn counties. Branstad's proclamation Monday means state resources can be used to respond to ongoing flooding and severe weather.
The derecho comes one day after severe weather produced heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 70 mph. A highway in Fairfax partially collapsed and the driver of a truck was injured, though additional information was not available. Part of a highway near Mount Vernon also partially collapsed. There were no reports of injuries.

Nebraska

A severe thunderstorm caused some damage in rural northeast Nebraska Monday morning, but mostly avoided the area around Pilger that was hit hard by storms earlier this month.
The National Weather Service says the storm destroyed some outbuildings and damaged at least one home in Pierce County just northwest of the town of Hadar.
Emergency management officials reported a tornado as the storm moved across Pierce County.
The storm also generated hail up to 1.75 inches in diameter near Pender and Walthill.
But the storm stayed north of the Stanton County town of Pilger that was heavily damaged by a tornado on June 16.

Wisconsin

Heavy rain brought flash flooding into southern Wisconsin Monday. Photos posted on Twitter show main roads in Madison flooded during rush hour.
At least 105,000 customers had lost electricity as of Monday night.
The region dealt with damaging storms Sunday, too. A tornado was reported in Iowa County around 11 p.m., Brian Hahn with the National Weather Service in Sullivan said. In Dane County, an EF1 tornado was confirmed after leaving damage near the town of Oregon Sunday night, according to the NWS.
Hahn said the Weather Service received reports of a "swath of damage" from Highland east toward Dodgeville. Straight-line winds could also have been the cause. No injuries were reported.
The Iowa County Sheriff's Office said it had received reports of wind damage. A message left with the Iowa County emergency manager was not immediately returned.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
MORE: Photos of June 30th Derecho
Storm clouds over Cedar Falls, Iowa on Monday evening. (Epic Cosmos/twitter)

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