Comparing Iowa's 'inland hurricane' to Laura's Category 4 strike on Louisiana
In early August, an extreme weather phenomenon often referred to as an "inland hurricane" swept across Iowa causing significant, widespread damage. So, how does that storm stack up against the strongest hurricane so far in the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season?
The two events are vastly different in size, shape and origins, but they do have some similarities and will likely both be remembered as some of the biggest weather events of 2020.
On Monday, Aug. 10, Iowa and northern Illinois were hit by a derecho, a swift-moving complex of thunderstorms that caused extensive wind damage over hundreds of miles. This was one of the strongest derechos in recent years that caused damage over such a large area that it was visible from space.
However, unlike hurricanes, derechos do not have storm surge, which is one of the costliest and deadliest aspects of a hurricane.
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The derecho raced eastward across the Midwest, causing destruction along its path on Monday, Aug. 10, 2020. (NWS Chicago) |
A little over two weeks after the derecho hit the Midwest, Hurricane Laura exploded into a powerful Category 4 storm as it tracked over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It made landfall in southwestern Louisiana at 1 a.m. CDT on Thursday, Aug. 27, as the strongest storm so far in the "hyperactive" 2020 Atlantic hurricane season and the strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. since Michale in 2018.
Hurricane Laura made landfall just as it was reaching peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, just shy of being classified as a Category 5 storm.
There are not many weather stations in southwestern Louisiana where the center of Laura moved ashore, but a station in Lake Charles clocked a wind gust of 137 mph as the eye was about to move over the city.
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The derecho in Iowa was right on par with these reports with winds equivalent to what is found in a strong Category 3 or Category 4 hurricane.
"Maximum estimated winds were around 140 mph, which caused extensive damage to an apartment complex in southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa," the National Weather Service said. "The maximum measured unofficial wind gust was 126 mph at Atkins, Iowa, in Benton County," which is about 10 miles west of Cedar Rapids in the eastern part of the state.
Comparing wind damage photos from the two events shows how similar the winds of each phenomenon can be -- and why derechos are often referred to as "inland hurricanes."
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On the left: A tower in Marion, Iowa, that was blown over amid intense winds from a derecho on Aug. 10, 2020. (NWS) |
Even though the wind gusts were of a similar magnitude, one key difference is the duration of the winds. In the derecho, the strongest winds lasted just a few minutes, while in a hurricane, strong winds can last for hours.
The long-duration winds led to more damage over a larger area in Louisiana and eastern Texas and were compounded by the destructive flooding and storm surge near the coast.
Wind damage and power outages go hand in hand when dealing with severe weather, and the aforementioned events left scores of residents in the dark.
Power outages from Laura peaked late on Thursday at around 900,000 outages, but were starting to decrease by Friday, according to PowerOutage.us. This number could have been significantly higher if Laura had tracked over a more populated area of the Gulf Coast, such as New Orleans or Houston.
Looking back at the derecho in early August, just over 1 million power customers were left in the dark with tens of thousands going without power for more than a week due to the extensive damage to the state's power grid.
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A radar loop showing a powerful derecho, sometimes referred to as an 'inland hurricane' charging across the middle of the U.S. earlier this month. (AccuWeather) |
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Despite the impressive wind speeds from both systems, they combined for fewer outages than Tropical Storm Isaias.
Isaias was much weaker than Laura or the derecho, but it hit the densely-populated northeastern U.S., leaving more than 3.5 million in the dark. New Jersey alone accounted for approximately one-third of the number of power outages.
Although some statistics are similar between Hurricane Laura and the early-August derecho, there is a large difference between the two in terms of the economic toll.
Both are billion-dollar weather disasters, but the far-reaching impacts of Laura will take a much bigger toll than the comparatively smaller derecho.
"AccuWeather estimates that the derecho caused $11.2 billion in damages across the 770-mile swath of the United States that it affected due to extensive losses in crops, including 10 million acres of crops that were destroyed across Iowa, the nation's top corn-producing state," AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers said.
Laura is projected to cause losses two to three times greater than the derecho, accord to Myers.
AccuWeather estimated the total damage and economic loss caused by Laura will be $25 billion to 30 billion, Myers said ahead of the storm's landfall.
This estimate includes damage to homes and businesses as well as their contents and cars, job and wage losses, infrastructure damage, auxiliary business losses, medical expenses and closures. The estimates also account for the costs of power outages to businesses and individuals and for economic losses because of highway closures and evacuations, as well as extraordinary government expenses for cleanup operations.
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An AccuWeather radar loop showing Hurricane Laura strengthening over the Gulf of Mexico and then making landfall and moving inland over rthe U.S. (AccuWeather). |
Miraculously, there were zero fatalities reported after the derecho in the Midwest and, as of Friday afternoon, 10 deaths reported after Laura.
"It was just so unrelenting. The winds would come up and it's like, they just would not go down, and it was just one of the scariest things I've ever been through," Patty Palmer, who rode out Hurricane Laura in her home, told AccuWeather National Reporter Jonathan Petramala.
Similar stories emerged out of Iowa as residents began to pick up the pieces following the destructive derecho, which leveled millions of acres of cornfields.
"Having a hurricane in Iowa was kind of one of those things you wouldn't think would happen," Cody Halling, a farmer in Perry, Iowa, told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell. "2020 ... You don't know what's coming next."
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