Power Outage in Cedar Rapids, IA

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Power outage in Cedar Rapids, Iowa? Contact your local utility company.

Alliant Energy
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(800) 255-4268 Report Online
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Linn County Rural Electric Cooperative
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(888) 271-6250 Report Online
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Eastern Iowa REC
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(800) 728-1242
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Pacific Power
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(877) 508-5088 Report Online
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Ameren Missouri
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(800) 552-7583 Report Online
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Cedar Rapids Power Outages Caused by Weather

Events

August 10, 2020 - Thunderstorm Wind

Widespread straight-line winds that produced extensive damage were reported throughout Linn County, associated with a derecho. These winds lasted around an hour in total at any one location, even though the initial line of storms moved out quickly. Damaging straight-line winds continued and were associated with the rear inflow jet. Maximum wind speeds were estimated to be 80 to 100 MPH for much of the county, with areas in central Linn County that had wind speed estimates that were 120 MPH or higher. The highest estimated wind speed were in the Cedar Rapids area where extensive damage to an apartment complex occurred with damage indicating winds about 140 MPH. A radio transmission tower also collapsed with wind speed estimated at 130 MPH. These estimates were determined based off damage reports and photos submitted through social media as well as a damage survey. The peak thunderstorm wind gust measured at the Cedar Rapids airport ASOS before it lost power was 68 MPH. The duration of strong winds caused extensive damaged most if not all trees, crops, and structures in their path. Due to the widespread damage, long duration power outages occurred. One fatality occurred here when a 63 year old man riding a bicycle was struck and killed by a tree that was knocked down due to the winds. There were also numerous injuries reported in the Cedar Rapids area.

Covington - Lisbon Mohn Arpt
August 10, 2020 - Thunderstorm Wind

Widespread straight-line winds that produced extensive damage were reported throughout Linn County, associated with a derecho. These winds lasted around an hour in total at any one location, even though the initial line of storms moved out quickly. Damaging straight-line winds continued and were associated with the rear inflow jet. Maximum wind speeds were estimated to be 80 to 100 MPH for much of the county, with areas in central Linn County that had wind speed estimates that were 120 MPH or higher. The highest estimated wind speed were in the Cedar Rapids area where extensive damage to an apartment complex occurred with damage indicating winds about 140 MPH. A radio transmission tower also collapsed with wind speed estimated at 130 MPH. These estimates were determined based off damage reports and photos submitted through social media as well as a damage survey. The peak thunderstorm wind gust measured at the Cedar Rapids airport ASOS before it lost power was 68 MPH. The duration of strong winds caused extensive damaged most if not all trees, crops, and structures in their path. Due to the widespread damage, long duration power outages occurred. One fatality occurred here when a 63 year old man riding a bicycle was struck and killed by a tree that was knocked down due to the winds. There were also numerous injuries reported in the Cedar Rapids area.

Covington - Lisbon Mohn Arpt
April 22, 2019 - Thunderstorm Wind

The Linn County Emergency Manager reported power lines and poles down.

(Cid)Cedar Rapids Ar - (Cid)Cedar Rapids Ar
September 3, 2018 - Tornado

A NWS storm survey team determined an EF-1 tornado with maximum winds around 100 mph touched down near the intersection of Skyline Drive NW and Meadowlark Lane NW in the northwest portion of Cedar Rapids, around 908 pm. The tornado moved northeast through residential neighborhoods. The tornado destroyed a garage, uprooted and snapped large trees and power poles, and caused minor damage to roofs. The tornado lifted near the intersection of 29th St. NW and Q Ave. NW around 914 pm. The storm also caused straight line wind damage at a business near the intersection of Collins Road NE and I-380. Winds estimated around 80 mph caused a partial collapse of a metal pole barn.

Covington - Hiawatha
June 15, 2017 - Thunderstorm Wind

Tree limbs were reported down in southeast corner of Mt Vernon and power was knocked out to the city of Mt Vernon. The time was estimated to have occurred with the early morning storms.

Mt Vernon - Mt Vernon

Episodes

June 24, 2023

Scattered severe storms tracked across southeast Iowa during the mid-afternoon into early evening of June 24, producing large hail up to golf ball size in Van Buren County and tennis ball size hail near Ottumwa.||More organized clusters of severe storms tracked through Dubuque into far northwest IL during the evening and late night hours of June 24. Another storm cluster moved through the Quad Cities, producing wind gusts to 70 mph at the Davenport ASOS and damage to trees and power poles. An EF-0 tornado also tracked east along and north of I-80 near the Davenport Airport, causing sporadic minor tree and structure damage. This storm impacted the Quad City Airshow grounds, while no visitors were present.

February 22, 2023

A well advertised storm system brough a mix of precipitation across all of eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and northeast Missouri on February 22nd. Precipitation began as rain during the early morning, but quickly changed to a mix of sleet and freezing rain as it progressed north over areas along and north of Interstate 80. This precipitation continued throughout the day before tapering off during the mid to late evening hours. ||Given the amount of moisture associated with this system, rain and ice amounts were high. Rainfall totals of around 1.00 - 1.50 were observed along and east of the Mississippi River. Ice amounts of a few hundredths up to three tenths of an inch were observed, with the latter mainly along and north of the Highway 30 corridor. This ice led to slippery travel conditions and power outages.

July 5, 2022

A line of showers and thunderstorms tracked east across Iowa Tuesday afternoon and evening bringing damaging wind, occasional lightning, and heavy rain to eastern IA and northwest IL. The strongest reported winds of 60-70 mph, occurred in Buchanan and Linn counties. These winds brought down trees and powerlines as they moved through in the evening.||A brief tornado occurred during the evening hours just southeast of Fairbank in an open field. Another brief tornado occurred just west of Winthrop IA in an open field. Since no visible damage was observed with either tornado, they were assigned an EF-U rating. The NWS would like to thank Buchanan County Emergency Management for assistance with the storm survey.

June 22, 2021

A few severe thunderstorms developed across eastern Iowa and far northeast Missouri on Tuesday, June 22, leading to several reports of severe hail and some wind damage. This was a day in which the instability was greater in in central Iowa, but the high shear throughout eastern Iowa allowed for these storms to become organized and thrive in an environment with just enough of instability. Storms entered eastern Iowa around 3:00 PM CDT, producing up to golf ball sized hail. A couple of these storms were long-lived, traveling through a few counties before dying. Some damaging wind gusts were also noted in Buchanan County, where large tree limbs were snapped and a power pole was blown down.

January 30, 2021

A strong storm system moved into the Midwest on the afternoon of January 30, 2021. Initially, precipitation began as rain as a layer of warm air was in place aloft. Over time, however, temperatures began to cool at the surface and aloft due to the falling rain, and precipitation changed to snow during the evening as a result. Some freezing rain was even measured as the transition occurred, and was most noticeable in the Cedar Rapids metro where photos showed accumulation on power lines.||Snow was widespread across the area during the morning of January 31, 2021, and all of eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and far northeast Missouri saw some form of accumulating snow. Totals were highest in parts of east central Iowa and in north central Illinois, where locally heavy banding at times on the morning of January 31 produced higher snowfall rates. Overall, totals ranged from around 4 to 6 inches, with some locally higher amounts of 7 to 8 inches reported in Buchanan and Benton counties.

News

Search and rescue teams scour Florida's flooded disaster zone amid massive power outages as Ian continues its ruinous crawl | News | kwwl.com

Search and rescue teams are working to respond to hours-old calls for help that came as Ian -- now a tropical storm still marching across Florida -- slammed the state's

Sep 29, 2022

Power outage at Austin airport leads to flight delays Share on Facebook Email This Link Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn

An early morning power outage Wednesday at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport caused flight delays that continued even after electricity was restored.

Sep 7, 2022

Evertiq - Micron reports power outage at Japanese DRAM facility

Micron reported on July 11th that it experienced a prolonged power disruption at its Hiroshima DRAM manufacturing facility on Friday, July 8, 2022, due to inclement weather in the area.

Jul 14, 2022

Power companies apply lessons learned to latest derecho Share on Facebook Email This Link Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn

A rep from MidAmerican Energy Company said the company learns lessons after every storm, including the 2020 derecho.

Jul 6, 2022

Storm causes power outages, damage across Iowa Share on Facebook Email This Link Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn

The storm, which brought winds north of 60 miles per hour, caused multiple reports of damage throughout the state.

Jul 5, 2022

Utility companies prepare for high temperatures | Waterloo | kwwl.com

WATERLOO, Iowa (KWWL) -- What's called a "rolling blackout" has never happened here before-- but due to back to back hot temperature days, some energy companies are warning it's a

Jun 14, 2022

Iowans warned: Rising summer temperatures may cause rolling blackouts

A regional agency says rolling blackouts would be limited to an hour at a time. Iowa has been rated at high risk of 'energy emergencies' this summer.

Jun 1, 2022

Much Of The Quad Cities Is Waking Up With No Internet Friday Morn loading...

On Friday, internet and cable company, Mediacom, experienced a major internet outage throughout its company. Customers in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and many other states woke up to no internet Friday morning.

Apr 22, 2022

MidAmerican Energy seeks Iowa approval to study new nuclear power plant technology | The Gazette

There’s a new type of nuclear power plant, smaller, modular and designed to be safer during power outages. Iowa utilities are watching pilot projects in other states, and MidAmerican Energy wants to invest in a study of new nuclear technology.

Mar 16, 2022

User Comments…

Are you affected? Leave your comment below.

I still don't have power and it's been over a week. When will my power be restored? All of my food is rotten.

Lois Stafford | August 16, 2020  

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Related Tweets

Tweets from Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Power restored in Marion https://t.co/K3Un7870fl

@KCRG | 09:17 AM - 6 Mar 2023

Power Outage FAQs

What is Power Outage?

Power outage (also called a power cut, a power blackout, power failure or a blackout) is a short-term or a long-term loss of the electric power to a particular area.

What Causes Power Outages?

  • Severe weather (high winds, lightning, winter storms, heat waves, rain or flooding can cause damage to power lines or equipment);
  • Other damage to electric transmission lines (vehicle accidents, trees, and animals can cause damage to power lines or equipment);
  • Repairing, maintenance or upgrades on power lines and equipment.

What are the Top Outage Safety Tips?

  • Stay away from the downed power lines, park vehicles in protected areas;
  • Unplug appliances and electronics, limit cell phone use to conserve battery life;
  • Use portable generators outdoors only, well away from open windows and doors;
  • Pack perishable foods into a cooler, keep refrigerator and freezer doors shut as much as possible.

Related Cities

Report power outage in other Iowa cities.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

City Cedar Rapids
County Linn
State Iowa (IA)
Country United States
Zip Codes 52401, 52402, 52403, 52404, 52405, 52406, 52407, 52408, 52409, 52410

Cedar Rapids Map