2020 Iowa Derecho Nears 2 Year Mark, Additional Photos Posted Here

 We're coming up on the two year mark of the catastrophic derecho that ravaged Iowa (and especially Cedar Rapids) on August 10, 2020. Wind speeds in Hiawatha, Iowa were estimated at nearly 140 mph--the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane. This was the costliest land thunderstorm in US history, estimated at around $11 billion in damages. Most definitely a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Posted here today are some additional photos of mine that did not make their way to the National Weather Service or TV stations. The image above is a three panel capture of the shelf cloud feature at the leading edge of the derecho as it approached my spotting position on Quiver Court in Marion, Iowa (42° 2'33.74"N,  91°36'48.03"W). Quiver Court is part of the Bowman Meadows housing development, just south of Boyson Road and just west of Alburnett Road. It afforded a clear, 360-degree view of the sky. The images look west, with the top panel captured at 12:33 pm CDT, middle at 12:35 pm, and bottom at 12:36 pm. Note how quickly the storm's appearance changes in such a small amount of time (ground speed was around 60 mph). The bottom panel looks like a giant mouth about to swallow up a cluster of houses (which essentially it did).

12:32 pm. Looking northwest. This image is the last "photo of normalcy" as the storm draws nearer. Darkness from its leading edge can be seen along the horizon at left. One can only look at the houses and trees in this image and imagine the transformation that would take place just a short time later.

12:36 pm. Looking due west. It's serious time--here it comes! With this type of storm (covering hundreds of miles) it was "no where to run, no where to hide." That reality made it dangerous and unnecessary to "chase." It was better to stay as close to home as possible. This location was .8-mile from home.

12:37 pm. Looking southwest. Leading edge almost upon me in this ominous view. Amateur radio was already alive with reports of "fallen mature trees and power outages" a few miles to my west.

12:44 pm. Looking southeast. Very small at left center is some unfortunate person's battered blue swimming pool rolling along vertical in the winds. Wind was from the right-to-left in this image. Note the bending of the tops of the trees in the distant background.

12:49 pm. Looking southwest. Hard-driving rain in the high wind created a white out-like appearance along the ground. Power had been extinguished here about two minutes earlier, after I had witnessed three separate power flashes in the distance toward the west.

1:05 pm. Looking northeast through the front passenger side window. For this shot I lowered the window for a better capture of the background. Open for less than a minute, and even though the wind was impacting the opposite side of the car, everything on the seat became soaked from rain borne by winds exceeding 100 mph. If you look real close at the sideview mirror at lower left, you can see the reflection of a pickup truck whose driver had tucked in behind me, using me as a wind break on the cul-de-sac.

1:07 pm. This is a video frame capture from my mounted Go Pro Hero 4 Silver camera. Image looks northwest, situated directly into the wind. I can remember saying a few prayers and feeling like the experience was similar to that of moving through an automated car wash--the car was rocking and water and suds were blasting my front windshield. You don't however, have 100 mph projectiles coming at you in a car wash! A small piece of debris did hit the metal strip between the windshield and my driver's side window, making me jump out of my seat!

1:36 pm. Traveling west on tree-strewn Boyson Road, near Newcastle Road in an attempt to return home. Dazed motorists slowly weave through the destruction.

1:42 pm. I was denied entry onto my street because of large fallen trees blocking the way, so I continued on, seeking an alternate route home. Because my spotting location had been in a open and newer area, there weren't many large trees down there. But as I continued west on Boyson Road it became apparent widespread destruction had taken place in the older neighborhoods. The image above, east of C Avenue on Boyson Road, is an example of that. 

1:45 pm. Continuing on in search of an outlet to my street. This image looks south from C Avenue NE in Cedar Rapids, just south of Boyson Road. Note the toppled power lines (probably where I had seen the power flashes earlier), the snarled traffic and the distant plume of smoke on the horizon.

1:48 pm. Turning onto Brentwood Drive to the south I soon found conditions even worse there than they were to the north--more downed trees and deep pools of water. I had to turn around and go back. Shown in this image is a crumpled street light at the intersection of Brentwood Drive and Devonshire Drive NE. I eventually settled on the relatively damage-free parking lot at Bowman Woods Elementary School. From there I walked home and relocated my car once our street was clear.

10:20 pm. 98% of Cedar Rapids lost power due to the storm. The skies cleared later that evening. I didn't even think about it at first, and was soon reminded that because of the unprecedented darkness from the power failures, the Milky Way might be seen--even from my own backyard. And indeed there it was! This was the first (and only) time the Milky Way could be seen with the naked eye from home. City light pollution has always made this impossible. The image above looks southeast from the eastern edge of Bowman Woods Park, bordering our backyard. In addition to the Milky Way, the planets Saturn (left) and Jupiter can be seen at lower center. The reddish areas are drifting clouds. Image is a 15 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 4000 and 13mm focal length. Our home was one of the luckiest in the entire area--we were only without power for 27 1/2 hours!

A wayward beach ball became our "souvenir" of the storm, as it had become wedged into our fence at some point (see inset), and no one came looking for it. It should be known however, it is still available for reclaiming if that original owner finds the need! Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.