Hurricanelike Winds Hammer the Heartland
A powerful storm with atmospheric pressure as low as a Category 3 hurricane will continue bringing damaging and dangerous winds to portions of the Plains and Midwest Wednesday.
Wind gusts as high as 75 mph will continue spreading through parts of the central and northern Plains, the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley.
Cities that will feel the winds include: Chicago, Cincinnati, Des Moines, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and St. Louis.
Winds strong enough to endanger lives and pose risks to property will encompass over 1 million square miles with the storm, so not only will cities be hit hard, but also suburbs, small towns and farms.
Thousands may be without power as trees and utility lines come down as the forceful blasts of air increase and spread eastward.
Damage to roofs and weakly constructed buildings will occur.
Local gusts may reach 75 mph.
Overwhelming cross winds can flip over trucks and push lightweight vehicles into oncoming lanes.
Loose objects can become projectiles.
Flight delays are a virtual certainty for the Midwest's major airport hubs of Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit. Delays were already mounting at busy Chicago O'Hare Tuesday morning and will no doubt have a ripple effect across the country, creating travel nightmares for airline passengers.
The high winds will create huge waves on the Great Lakes, bringing dangers to shipping and fishing interests.
Strong winds blowing across the Great Lakes can send a surge of water, known as a seiche, to some shorelines, causing major flooding.
Local gusts may reach 75 mph.
The storm is the same system that plowed into the Northwest over the weekend with windswept rain, pounding surf and blinding high-elevation snow.
Wind, Pressure Statistics with the Storm
The strongest winds have not yet occurred as the storm is still strengthening and the flow is becoming more aligned.
While the storm will have barometric pressures as low as a Category 3 hurricane, peak winds will hover near minimal hurricane force.
Winds gusted to 64 mph gust at Clinton, Iowa, and 66 mph at Pierre, S.D., as of the late morning Tuesday, CDT.
The lower wind speeds, relative to the record pressure is cause by the frictional effects of the land verses the water and the large, spread out nature of this storm, compared to the more compact hurricane.
As of the early evening hours Tuesday, CDT, the pressure at Bigfork, Minn., was 28.20 inches and now ranks as number two on the all-time most intense list for the Great Lakes region.
The Great Ohio Blizzard, on Jan. 26, 1978, has top honors with a pressure of 28.05 inches, according to the National Weather Service in Chicago.
In comparison, the Freshwater Fury, Edmund Fitzgerald Storm of Nov. 10, 1975 had a pressure of 28.95 inches.
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Daily U.S. Extremes
past 24 hours
| Extreme | Location | |
|---|---|---|
| High | 100° | Wink, TX |
| Low | 29° | Mullan Pass, ID |
| Precip | 1.17" | Chapel Hill, NC |
WeatherWhys®
People need to pay close attention to the UV index during this time of year. On a sunny day late in the spring and into the summer, the UV is usually at least an 8, which is very high. Readings over 11 are considered extreme values in which only 10 minutes of full exposure to the sun will produce a sunburn.
This Day In Weather History
New Hampshire (1814)
A tornado crossed Merrimac, Litchfield, Londonderry and North Chester. The same storm produced hailstones that had an 11-inch circumference and weighed 1/2 pound.
Northeast (1989)
More rain in an already wet month. Monthly totals topped 11 inches at New York City, 9 inches at Bridgeport, Conn., and 8 inches at Baltimore (all three totals set records for May).
Rough Weather
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