DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI] — The line of severe storms that swept across Iowa Friday morning was in fact a derecho (pronounced “duh-RAY-cho”). That confirmation came from the Storm Prediction Center, which determined the powerful system met its criteria after plowing through the Midwest from Nebraska all the way to Illinois.

In simple terms, a derecho is a complex of thunderstorms that produces straight-line wind damage over a very long path. That damage path has to exceed 400 miles in length and must be at least 60 miles wide. Wind gusts have to exceed 58 mph (severe thunderstorm criteria) over most of the path, with occasional gusts above 75 mph.

The derecho that walloped Iowa Friday morning checked all those boxes. Reports of 60-70 mph gusts first came out of southwest Nebraska Thursday night. By 3 a.m. Friday, severe winds had arrived in western Iowa and would persist all the way into Illinois.

In Iowa, gusts above the 58 mph threshold were reported as far north as Estherville, and as far south as Highway 92, making the damage swath well over 100 miles wide. Finally, the system produced multiple high-end wind gusts (75+ mph) along its path, including an 83 mph gust in Monona County, 75 mph winds in Greenfield, and an 84 mph gust recorded near Newton.

Many Iowans hadn’t heard of derechos until a particularly powerful one struck Aug. 10, 2020.

Derechos actually happen with some regularity but are rarely as strong as the 2020 storm.

Historically, part of Iowa experiences a derecho every 1-2 years. Since 2010, a total of 14 derechos have hit somewhere in the state.

• May 24, 2024
• June 29, 2023 (southern Iowa)
• July 5, 2022 (northern Iowa)
• May 12, 2022 (northwest Iowa)
• Dec. 15, 2021
• Aug. 10, 2020
• July 20, 2019 (northern Iowa)
• June 28, 2018
• July 19, 2017 (northeast Iowa)
• June 22, 2015
• June 30, 2014
• June 24, 2013
• July 11, 2011
• June 18, 2010