Storms, extreme winds from Colorado to Michigan leave more than 450,000 without power
Source: Washington Post
National
Storms, extreme winds from Colorado to Michigan leave more than 450,000 without power
By Bryan Pietsch and Jason Samenow
Today at 3:41 a.m. EST
A powerful storm system swept through the central United States on Wednesday with high winds that kicked up dust storms, fueled wildfires and knocked down power lines, leaving more than 450,000 customers without power.
More than 36 million people from New Mexico to Michigan were under high-wind warnings, as gusts of up to 100 mph sent roofs flying and toppled tractor-trailers on highways from Colorado to Iowa.
The National Weather Service reported a “confirmed tornado” near Rochester in southeastern Minnesota, the state’s first on record in December. Several tornadoes reported in western and central Iowa were also a December first for those parts of the state. And Wednesday saw the most reports of winds of 75 mph or higher in a single day since 2004, according to the Weather Service.
The storms came just days after devastating tornadoes in nine states over the weekend, and while there were scattered reports of damaged homes and structures, the latest severe weather did not appear to have caused deaths as of early Thursday.
More than 110,000 customers were without power in Iowa late Wednesday evening, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages. Nearly 100,000 were without power in Wisconsin, almost 75,000 in Kansas and thousands in Illinois, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota and Michigan. MidAmerican Energy, which services parts of Iowa, said it could be as many as three days before power is restored “because of the extensive damage.”
A lack of electricity during winter in those states normally risks leaving people without heat in freezing conditions, but cities across the Midwest reported record-breaking highs Wednesday. Parts of Iowa reached temperatures as high as 74, with the Chicago region nearing 70 the week before Christmas.
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By Bryan Pietsch
Bryan Pietsch is a reporter covering breaking news for The Washington Post from its hub in Seoul. He previously covered breaking news for the New York Times in Colorado. Twitter https://twitter.com/bybryanpietsch
By Jason Samenow
Jason Samenow is The Washington Post’s weather editor and Capital Weather Gang's chief meteorologist. He earned a master's degree in atmospheric science and spent 10 years as a climate change science analyst for the U.S. government. He holds the Digital Seal of Approval from the National Weather Association. Twitter https://twitter.com/capitalweather
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/12/16/power-outage-midwest-storms-tornado-derecho/
This story is a continuation of a story that ran yesterday. The Post is keeping current with the progress of the storm.
Destructive wind storm blasting central U.S. with rare tornado threat in the north
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142840940
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