Upper Midwest US Tornado Threat this Evening

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An intense storm system moving from the Rockies into the Plains is producing severe weather, tornadoes and extreme fire danger while also bringing widespread damaging winds on Wednesday.

Winds gusting up to 107 mph in Lamar, Colorado, have toppled semi-trucks, ripped off roofs, and toppled trees, according to Mayor Kirk Crespin.
"It's been an interesting day here in Lamar, and a record-breaking day for wind," he said. "Gusts have caused widespread damage."

Mike Smaldino, public information officer with the Colorado Springs Fire Department, said that sustained winds and gusts have caused significant damage in Colorado Springs.
"Our own fire department roof has partly blown off," Smaldino said. "Just on my drive into the city, I saw about a dozen semi-trucks toppled over."

Smaldino said that calls into the fire department have nearly quadrupled in the last three hours. "We are dealing with gas leaks, grass fires from power lines being down as well as smoldering trees."

Several locations, including the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, have reported wind gusts of 100 mph or greater, according to the National Weather Service.

Hurricane-force wind gusts have already been recorded in at least seven states as of 4 p.m. EST.

The high winds are producing dust storm conditions over portions of the Plains. Eastbound Interstate 70 is closed in both directions from the Colorado state line to Russell, Kansas, with sand and dust creating near-zero visibility, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

More than 80 million people are under wind alerts from the storm and over 35 million are under high wind warnings, including residents of Denver, Kansas City, Omaha, Des Moines, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Chicago.

At least nine wildfires are burning in northwest and western Oklahoma, according to Oklahoma Emergency Management Public Information Officer Keli Cain.
A red flag warning and a high wind warning are in effect for multiple counties, Cain said

The powerful system over the central U.S. has unleashed impressive wind gusts across the region that have already made their way into the record books. According to the National Weather Service, Des Moines, Iowa, experienced its highest wind gust since 1970 that was not related to a thunderstorm. The 74 mph gust was observed at 8:28 p.m. CST after the line of severe thunderstorms cleared the city. Farther west, a 70 mph wind gust was observed in Omaha, Nebraska, about four hours after thunderstorms swept through the city. Omaha was also experiencing blowing dust kicked up by the powerful winds.

Wednesday's far-reaching weather system knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people across the central U.S., an event that will not soon be forgotten. In Kansas City, a large pane of glass fell several stories and shattered on the street below amid strong winds. Farther north in Lincoln, Nebraska, winds gusted to 93 mph which caused the rain to look more like a snowstorm, limiting visibility to just a few hundred feet. High-profile vehicles had difficulty navigating through the winds with multiple accidents and turnovers reported.

It has been a year and four months since Iowa was devastated by a powerful derecho, and those same areas are now experiencing another extreme wind event. The derecho of Aug. 11, 2020, flattened entire fields of corn, snapped trees like they were toothpicks and left behind billions in damage. Several locations clocked wind gusts over 100 mph as the complex of storms blasted through on Iowa in less than six hours. The storms currently sweeping across Iowa are not as powerful as the 2020 derecho, but they are still packing a punch with wind gusts between 60 and 80 mph. Isolated tornadoes have also been reported in the western part of the state.

Half of the Lower 48 endured a historic and dangerous weather event Wednesday as an extremely powerful storm system swept through the middle of the country unleashing damaging winds and, in some areas, tornadoes, dust storms and out-of-control fires.

Winds of 70 to 100-plus mph sheared off roofs, overturned vehicles, toppled trees and caused hundreds of thousands of power outages while contributing to hazardous ground and air travel. From New Mexico to Michigan, more than 36 million people were under high-wind warnings. In Colorado, several locations clocked gusts over 100 mph.

Due to a fast-moving complex of violent storms, known as derecho, the National Weather Service logged at least 55 reports of hurricane-force wind gusts (75-plus mph), the most in a single day on record (since 2004). Winds gusted to 74 mph in both Des Moines and Omaha.

As the derecho tore through the Upper Midwest, western and central Iowa and, possibly, Minnesota saw their first December tornadoes on record, among 19 reported in three states.

The Central U.S. has never seen a December storm like this,” tweeted Bill Karins, a meteorologist for MSNBC. “Multi-hazard, life-threatening weather today.”

Both Iowa and Wisconsin saw their warmest December weather on record Wednesday afternoon.

Iowa notched its highest December temperature on record. Des Moines reached its all-time December record, hitting 74 degrees. Dew points, an indicator of moisture and humidity, rocketed to record levels in the state. High temperatures and dew points fuel severe thunderstorms.

Wisconsin hit its highest December temperature on record, with Boscobel hitting 72 degrees.

Tornado drills were rarely performed in the Amazon warehouse that collapsed, employees told Insider. Shelter areas were bathrooms and break rooms, rather than built-for-purpose structures. Employees said they didn't think the company took extreme weather seriously.

This is why we need laws for worker protection. Provisions need to be in place to protect the life and health of employees while on the job. Owners will not automatically consider your safety if they don't have to.