Death toll climbs to 5 from midweek severe weather outburst
All the ingredients for severe weather came together with fatal effects on Wednesday as a complex setup churned up dust storms, knocked out power and triggered one state's first-ever December tornado.
By
Allison Finch, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Dec 16, 2021 11:04 AM EST
|
Updated Dec 20, 2021 6:14 AM EST
From Oklahoma to Iowa, damaging winds swept across the central U.S. on Dec. 15.
An extreme weather system turned fatal this week when a complex atmospheric setup devastated areas in the Midwest and upper Great Lakes. At least five deaths across three states have been attributed to the storm system. Four of those fatalities came on the roads, as the winds and dust made safe driving impossible, while another death in Minnesota was blamed on a falling tree.
In Kansas, multiple accidents led to three deaths on Wednesday. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, dust kicked up by the storm made it impossible for drivers to see. Elsewhere in the state, at least four semitrailers blew over, according to The Associated Press, forcing officials to temporarily close parts of I-70. A total of 73 crashes were reported from the storm, resulting in 20 injuries.
The other road-related death occurred in Iowa, where the storm claimed the life of a semi-truck driver on Highway 151 when strong winds rolled the truck over onto its side, the Iowa State Patrol said. Many other trucks struggled to stay upright on parts of I-80, and some were toppled by wind gusts over 70 mph.
As Wednesday began, a snow squall line with heavy wind gusts moved its way across the rocky mountains around 5 a.m. MST. Many areas along the I-70 corridor in the Colorado Rockies experienced whiteout conditions as the storm moved from Glenwood Springs to Idaho Springs.
Snow squalls were also reported in Wyoming and New Mexico throughout the morning.
The cold front and rain/snow squall could be seen in the form of an ominous cloud as it left the mountains and approached the Colorado foothills.
Whiteout conditions from the snow squall as it impacted near the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado.
As the storm moved through Eastern Colorado and Kansas in the afternoon, high winds and dry conditions picked up dust as it moved eastward.
Blowing dust caused several roads to be closed across Kansas. A semi was blown over due to the winds on I-70 between Ellis and WaKeeney.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported 73 total crashes on Wednesday. Of those, 20 resulted in injury and two were fatal. One of the serious injuries occurred after high winds lifted and flipped an empty tractor-trailer over on U.S. Highway 75, according to KSN.
KDOT closed a 160 mile stretch of interstate 70 due to the dust, spanning from Kanorado to Hays. The closure eventually expanded an additional 93 miles to Salina as low visibility continued to create dangerous driving conditions across the state.
I-70 from Kanorado to Salina remained closed for about five hours.
The dust from Colorado and Kansas was transported so far away, it was reported to be found in Duluth, Minnesota.
The dry conditions mixed with the windy weather caused a fire in Russell County, Kansas to ignite. The fire spread at least 150 square miles and destroyed at least 10 homes. At least one severe injury was reported. A visible burn scar is visible in both counties. Russell, KS reported a wind gust of 100 mph on Wednesday.
According to reports from the NWS, high winds damaged a parked aircraft at Santa Fe Airport, and a downed radio tower took out power lines for the northern half of the town of Taos, New Mexico.
A trooper with the Missouri State Highway Patrol told a local news station that a driver was ejected when strong winds tossed his box truck off the highway. He was flown to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.
Record high temperatures set the stage for wild weather across the middle of the nation on Wednesday afternoon. On Wednesday, Des Moines, Iowa, demolished its high-temperature record for Dec. 15 when the mercury soared into the mid-70s. Many other cities across the central U.S. tied or broke their high-temperature record for the day.
Angeline noted that temperatures had dropped drastically after the storm rolled through Iowa, with temperatures in the mid-50s after midday temperatures were in the mid-70s, providing "springlike" weather in the middle of December.
Tornado watches were issued from northeastern Kansas to southern Minnesota as severe thunderstorms organized over the region.
NOAA's GOES-East weather satellite captured this image of the storm system over the central U.S. on Wednesday afternoon shortly before sunset.
The first severe thunderstorm warning was issued just before 1 p.m. CST for North Central Kansas and South Central Nebraska.
The severe storms worked their way through eastern Nebraska and eventually impacted several other states in the midwest as it moved northeast.
Given the remarkably high wind gusts the storms kicked up, in excess of 100 mph in several places, and the wide area the storms covered on Wednesday, there was conjecture among meteorologists that a rare derecho had occurred.
"There is no official declaration that happens, but it meets the criteria for a derecho," Elizabeth Leitman, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (NWS SPC), said. The storm traveled roughly 660 miles in 10-and-a-half hours.
By definition, a derecho has occurred if wind damage from showers and thunderstorms occurs across a swath of more than 240 miles and includes wind gusts of at least 58 mph or greater along most of its length, according to the NWS.
Five states clocked dangerous wind gusts of up to 107 mph on Wednesday afternoon as the fierce storm continued to move eastward. "[This] event is causing hurricane wind gusts over an area in the U.S. larger than any individual hurricane impact this season," said Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather Director of Forecast Operations.
A total of 72 tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued in Iowa on Wednesday. This is the most Iowa has seen in a single day since March 6, 2017, according to ABC Des Moines. At least 5 tornadoes were confirmed in Iowa by the NWS from this event.
AccuWeather National Reporters Jillian Angeline and Tony Laubach were some of the first people on the scene when one driver in despair flagged down them down. His partner was injured in one of the rolled-over tractor-trailers.
"You know, as storm chasers, we're always kind of the first ones there, and above being a storm chaser, above being a journalist, we're humans," said AccuWeather Meteorologist and Storm Chaser, Tony Laubach. "We saw him flag us down on the side of the interstate. We helped get the guy out of the truck ... I tended to his injuries till the paramedics showed up, and they were able to get him into the ambulance and get him taken care of."
Ali Kulmiye, a truck driver, told AccuWeather's Jillian Angeline that his co-driver told him to "stop, stop the car, but I said, I can't. I can't stop the car. The car doesn't stop. The wind taking it everywhere."
Just after 10 p.m. CST, Dec. 15, 2021, set the record for the highest number of hurricane-force wind gusts, meaning wind gusts 75 mph or higher, in a single day. A total of 55 reports were recorded, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. This broke the previous record of 53 such gusts on Aug. 10, 2020.
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center tallied just under two dozen tornado reports and about 500 wind reports across the central U.S. on Wednesday. Winds ripped shingles off homes in several locations.
"These storms are happening in a place where tornadoes and severe weather are unprecedented in mid-December," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. He reminded people to be weather-ready and take action when warnings were issued for their community.
As of Friday, 11 tornadoes have been confirmed by NWS Des Moines from Wednesday's storm. Several of which were EF-2 strength.
One of the EF-2 tornadoes was confirmed southwest of Bayard, IA and traveled 26.7 miles towards Greene, IA. Another EF-2 tornado traveled 26.1 miles, starting southwest of Atlantic, IA and ending between Exira and Hamlin, IA.
As the storm system barreled to the east, parts of the Upper Midwest were hit by severe weather including southern Minnesota. On Thursday afternoon, two tornadoes were confirmed in Minnesota. An EF-0 tornado was confirmed in Winona County, MN. This was the first-ever tornado confirmed in Minnesota during the month of December.
On Friday, an EF-1 tornado from Wednesday was confirmed in Minnesota near Plainview, MN.
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Another tornado was confirmed in Hartland, Minnesota, which caused significant damage to a bank and several homes. As of Sunday night, at least 6 tornadoes were confirmed across Minnesota by the NWS.
In Wisconsin, an EF-2 tornado was confirmed in Clark County. On Friday, another tornado was confirmed in Wisconsin with EF-0 damage being found between Fairchild and Augusta, WI. At least 4 tornadoes were confirmed in Wisconsin by the NWS from this event.
Another EF-2 tornado was confirmed to have tracked nearly 24 miles across Nebraska, west of Lincoln and through portions of Saline, Seward and Lancaster counties.
The storm even managed to unleash some large hail in places, according to reports.
Softball-sized hail was reportedly measured near Emporia, Kansas, one of the most impressive storm reports of the day. Hailstones this large can reach speeds of a major league fastball -- 100 mph -- causing significant damage to property and cause major injury.
So far this month, 105 tornadoes have been confirmed. This is an all time record for the month of December, beating a 19 year old record.
According to AccuWeather forecasters, cooler and less breezy conditions will sweep into the regions that were hardest hit during Wednesday's storm.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Severe Weather
Death toll climbs to 5 from midweek severe weather outburst
All the ingredients for severe weather came together with fatal effects on Wednesday as a complex setup churned up dust storms, knocked out power and triggered one state's first-ever December tornado.
By Allison Finch, AccuWeather staff writer
Published Dec 16, 2021 11:04 AM EST | Updated Dec 20, 2021 6:14 AM EST
From Oklahoma to Iowa, damaging winds swept across the central U.S. on Dec. 15.
An extreme weather system turned fatal this week when a complex atmospheric setup devastated areas in the Midwest and upper Great Lakes. At least five deaths across three states have been attributed to the storm system. Four of those fatalities came on the roads, as the winds and dust made safe driving impossible, while another death in Minnesota was blamed on a falling tree.
In Kansas, multiple accidents led to three deaths on Wednesday. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, dust kicked up by the storm made it impossible for drivers to see. Elsewhere in the state, at least four semitrailers blew over, according to The Associated Press, forcing officials to temporarily close parts of I-70. A total of 73 crashes were reported from the storm, resulting in 20 injuries.
The other road-related death occurred in Iowa, where the storm claimed the life of a semi-truck driver on Highway 151 when strong winds rolled the truck over onto its side, the Iowa State Patrol said. Many other trucks struggled to stay upright on parts of I-80, and some were toppled by wind gusts over 70 mph.
As Wednesday began, a snow squall line with heavy wind gusts moved its way across the rocky mountains around 5 a.m. MST. Many areas along the I-70 corridor in the Colorado Rockies experienced whiteout conditions as the storm moved from Glenwood Springs to Idaho Springs.
Snow squalls were also reported in Wyoming and New Mexico throughout the morning.
The cold front and rain/snow squall could be seen in the form of an ominous cloud as it left the mountains and approached the Colorado foothills.
Whiteout conditions from the snow squall as it impacted near the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado.
As the storm moved through Eastern Colorado and Kansas in the afternoon, high winds and dry conditions picked up dust as it moved eastward.
Blowing dust caused several roads to be closed across Kansas. A semi was blown over due to the winds on I-70 between Ellis and WaKeeney.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported 73 total crashes on Wednesday. Of those, 20 resulted in injury and two were fatal. One of the serious injuries occurred after high winds lifted and flipped an empty tractor-trailer over on U.S. Highway 75, according to KSN.
KDOT closed a 160 mile stretch of interstate 70 due to the dust, spanning from Kanorado to Hays. The closure eventually expanded an additional 93 miles to Salina as low visibility continued to create dangerous driving conditions across the state.
I-70 from Kanorado to Salina remained closed for about five hours.
The dust from Colorado and Kansas was transported so far away, it was reported to be found in Duluth, Minnesota.
The dry conditions mixed with the windy weather caused a fire in Russell County, Kansas to ignite. The fire spread at least 150 square miles and destroyed at least 10 homes. At least one severe injury was reported. A visible burn scar is visible in both counties. Russell, KS reported a wind gust of 100 mph on Wednesday.
According to reports from the NWS, high winds damaged a parked aircraft at Santa Fe Airport, and a downed radio tower took out power lines for the northern half of the town of Taos, New Mexico.
A trooper with the Missouri State Highway Patrol told a local news station that a driver was ejected when strong winds tossed his box truck off the highway. He was flown to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.
Record high temperatures set the stage for wild weather across the middle of the nation on Wednesday afternoon. On Wednesday, Des Moines, Iowa, demolished its high-temperature record for Dec. 15 when the mercury soared into the mid-70s. Many other cities across the central U.S. tied or broke their high-temperature record for the day.
Angeline noted that temperatures had dropped drastically after the storm rolled through Iowa, with temperatures in the mid-50s after midday temperatures were in the mid-70s, providing "springlike" weather in the middle of December.
Tornado watches were issued from northeastern Kansas to southern Minnesota as severe thunderstorms organized over the region.
NOAA's GOES-East weather satellite captured this image of the storm system over the central U.S. on Wednesday afternoon shortly before sunset.
The first severe thunderstorm warning was issued just before 1 p.m. CST for North Central Kansas and South Central Nebraska.
The severe storms worked their way through eastern Nebraska and eventually impacted several other states in the midwest as it moved northeast.
Given the remarkably high wind gusts the storms kicked up, in excess of 100 mph in several places, and the wide area the storms covered on Wednesday, there was conjecture among meteorologists that a rare derecho had occurred.
"There is no official declaration that happens, but it meets the criteria for a derecho," Elizabeth Leitman, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (NWS SPC), said. The storm traveled roughly 660 miles in 10-and-a-half hours.
By definition, a derecho has occurred if wind damage from showers and thunderstorms occurs across a swath of more than 240 miles and includes wind gusts of at least 58 mph or greater along most of its length, according to the NWS.
Five states clocked dangerous wind gusts of up to 107 mph on Wednesday afternoon as the fierce storm continued to move eastward. "[This] event is causing hurricane wind gusts over an area in the U.S. larger than any individual hurricane impact this season," said Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather Director of Forecast Operations.
A total of 72 tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued in Iowa on Wednesday. This is the most Iowa has seen in a single day since March 6, 2017, according to ABC Des Moines. At least 5 tornadoes were confirmed in Iowa by the NWS from this event.
AccuWeather National Reporters Jillian Angeline and Tony Laubach were some of the first people on the scene when one driver in despair flagged down them down. His partner was injured in one of the rolled-over tractor-trailers.
"You know, as storm chasers, we're always kind of the first ones there, and above being a storm chaser, above being a journalist, we're humans," said AccuWeather Meteorologist and Storm Chaser, Tony Laubach. "We saw him flag us down on the side of the interstate. We helped get the guy out of the truck ... I tended to his injuries till the paramedics showed up, and they were able to get him into the ambulance and get him taken care of."
Ali Kulmiye, a truck driver, told AccuWeather's Jillian Angeline that his co-driver told him to "stop, stop the car, but I said, I can't. I can't stop the car. The car doesn't stop. The wind taking it everywhere."
Just after 10 p.m. CST, Dec. 15, 2021, set the record for the highest number of hurricane-force wind gusts, meaning wind gusts 75 mph or higher, in a single day. A total of 55 reports were recorded, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. This broke the previous record of 53 such gusts on Aug. 10, 2020.
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center tallied just under two dozen tornado reports and about 500 wind reports across the central U.S. on Wednesday. Winds ripped shingles off homes in several locations.
"These storms are happening in a place where tornadoes and severe weather are unprecedented in mid-December," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. He reminded people to be weather-ready and take action when warnings were issued for their community.
As of Friday, 11 tornadoes have been confirmed by NWS Des Moines from Wednesday's storm. Several of which were EF-2 strength.
One of the EF-2 tornadoes was confirmed southwest of Bayard, IA and traveled 26.7 miles towards Greene, IA. Another EF-2 tornado traveled 26.1 miles, starting southwest of Atlantic, IA and ending between Exira and Hamlin, IA.
As the storm system barreled to the east, parts of the Upper Midwest were hit by severe weather including southern Minnesota. On Thursday afternoon, two tornadoes were confirmed in Minnesota. An EF-0 tornado was confirmed in Winona County, MN. This was the first-ever tornado confirmed in Minnesota during the month of December.
On Friday, an EF-1 tornado from Wednesday was confirmed in Minnesota near Plainview, MN.
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Another tornado was confirmed in Hartland, Minnesota, which caused significant damage to a bank and several homes. As of Sunday night, at least 6 tornadoes were confirmed across Minnesota by the NWS.
In Wisconsin, an EF-2 tornado was confirmed in Clark County. On Friday, another tornado was confirmed in Wisconsin with EF-0 damage being found between Fairchild and Augusta, WI. At least 4 tornadoes were confirmed in Wisconsin by the NWS from this event.
Another EF-2 tornado was confirmed to have tracked nearly 24 miles across Nebraska, west of Lincoln and through portions of Saline, Seward and Lancaster counties.
The storm even managed to unleash some large hail in places, according to reports.
Softball-sized hail was reportedly measured near Emporia, Kansas, one of the most impressive storm reports of the day. Hailstones this large can reach speeds of a major league fastball -- 100 mph -- causing significant damage to property and cause major injury.
So far this month, 105 tornadoes have been confirmed. This is an all time record for the month of December, beating a 19 year old record.
According to AccuWeather forecasters, cooler and less breezy conditions will sweep into the regions that were hardest hit during Wednesday's storm.
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