Derecho unleashes winds of 90+ mph, spawns tornadoes in Midwest
A possible tornado flipped a car near Columbus as severe storms unleashed 90 mph damaging winds, flash flooding and widespread power outages across the Midwest.
From Illinois all the way to North Carolina, a derecho and severe thunderstorms unleashed destruction on Aug. 11.
A powerful line of severe thunderstorms spawned a damaging wind event known as a derecho and tore through the Midwest on Tuesday, spawning a possible tornado along Interstate 71, flipping a car in Columbus, Ohio, and leaving more than 800,000 without power by Wednesday morning.
A car flips on I-71 near Weber Road in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, during a tornado-warned storm (Image: Ohio DOT)
Ohio Department of Transportation cameras along I-71 near Weber Road captured the tornado-warned storm sweeping through the area. Visibility dropped to near zero before a car could be seen flipping as the storm passed.
The severe weather that roared through Ohio on Tuesday morning was one of multiple lines of intense thunderstorms that swept through the Midwest and Ohio Valley throughout the day.
Strong winds flipped a moving vehicle on a highway in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday morning. Traffic camera footage captured the vehicle tipping onto its side as severe weather moved through the area.
Around 10:45 a.m. CT, tornado sirens sounded across Chicago as a separate line of powerful storms moved through the city.
Tuesday's event spanned more than 600 miles from eastern Iowa to northern Indiana, creating straight-line winds, with a home weather station in Kane, Illinois, recording a 97-mph gust and another report in Gary, Indiana, of a 99-mph gust.
The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center said Tuesday's storm met the criteria of a derecho, sometimes known as an "inland hurricane" due to its strong winds and appearance on radar. A derecho must span at least 400 miles (about 650 km) with a width of at least 60 miles (about 100 km), according to the SPC, and include wind gusts of at least 58 mph along most of its path, with isolated gusts of at least 75 mph.
The day kicked off with at least three EF1 tornadoes in Iowa confirmed by the National Weather Service office in Davenport between 7:30 and 7:50 a.m. CDT.
Top wind reports from Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026.
More than 800,000 customers were without power early Wednesday from Indiana to Ohio, according to PowerOutage.us. Dozens of reports of snapped trees and downed power poles stretched from Iowa to Ohio.
Torrential rain accompanied the severe weather, leaving vehicles and buildings surrounded by floodwater in parts of Ohio. The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Emergency for Perry County.
Storm clouds move in over Paycor Stadium and practice fields during the Cincinnati Bengals' NFL football practice in Cincinnati, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The severe weather threat will not end with Tuesday’s storms. AccuWeather meteorologists expect severe thunderstorms to shift farther south on Wednesday, extending from central Illinois to the Virginia and North Carolina coasts. Damaging winds will remain the primary concern, with an AccuWeather StormMax™ wind gust of 80 mph.
Repeated rounds of torrential rain could pose an even greater danger in parts of the Ohio Valley and Appalachians through Thursday night.
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