Power Outage in Spencer, IA

After a 2 to 4 inch fluffy snow accumulation across most of northwest Iowa on December 21 and 22, a strong Arctic front surged through the area with strong and gusty northwest winds from 35 to 55 mph, creating widespread whiteout conditions. Most county, state, and federal highways were either impassable or with travel not recommended. Drifts as high as 5 to 10 feet were documented through social media. Numerous accidents and stranded vehicles complicated recovery efforts. School, county, and state operations were cancelled for several days when conditions were coupled with life-threatening wind chills. Winds resulted in spotty power outages around the Iowa Great Lakes.

December 23, 2022

The first phase of a large and long-duration winter storm brought strong warming aloft atop a deep cold layer. With areas of freezing rain and drizzle, significant ice accumulations spread across portions of northwest Iowa. Spotty minor power outages and broken tree limbs were reported.

December 12, 2022

A cluster of thunderstorms developed across eastern Montana and the western Dakotas during the morning hours. These storms organized and turned southeastward, feeding on rich inflow of post-frontal air with up to 3000 J/kg of MLCAPE and over 1000 J/kg of DCAPE. Along with strong storm-relative shear, parameters favored development of a strong cold pool and balanced mesocyclone, which spread southeast with the cluster and developed a strong and long-duration severe wind event which traversed South Dakota, southwest Minnesota, extreme northeast Nebraska, and northwest Iowa during the afternoon and early evening. The storm was classified as a derecho, and featured numerous wind gusts from 70 to 100 mph and considerable damage to trees, crops, powerlines, and structures along its path.

July 05, 2022

Thunderstorm Wind. Numerous cottonwood trees were uprooted and powerlines down in the area. Winds were estimated from 65 to 70 mph.

May 12, 2022

A volatile environment featured a warm front from parts of east central South Dakota into western Minnesota, with a dryline extending to the southwest into Nebraska. With a very strong wave moving northeast through Nebraska into a highly unstable and highly sheared environment, scattered storms initiated and quickly grew upscale to a broad linear structure with damaging winds. With crop development well behind schedule and many fields yet to be planted, there was ample dirt available to be lofted into the leading edge of the storms, which took on the characteristics of a haboob reducing visibility to near zero at the onset of high winds.||A broad swath of winds from 70 to 100 mph devastated much of southeast South Dakota, and portions of southwest Minnesota, northeast Nebraska and northwest Iowa, causing extensive tree and structural damage and scores of injuries. The highest observed wind gust was 107 mph near Tripp, SD. In addition, vehicles and high profile vehicles were blown off several roads, shutting down traffic on Interstates 29 and 90. Two (direct) fatalities occurred in vehicles impacted by debris as the storms moved into the Sioux Falls area. Power was disrupted in a widespread area, with estimates of over 45,000 customers impacted at one time. Many schools were closed due to damage and power issues. The South Dakota Governor requested and was granted a Presidential Disaster Declaration for damage to public infrastructure at an estimated cost of 6.7 million dollars across 20 counties and two reservations. Private losses were a much higher toll, and just one of the impacted counties (McCook) estimated at least 150 to 175 million dollars in damage. Presidential Disaster Declarations were also granted in Dixon County, Nebraska and Lincoln County, Minnesota.||Following the afternoon line of storms, a secondary band of storms developed near the core of the upper level jet across eastern Nebraska in the early evening hours. These storms also quickly become severe, with a mix of large hail, damaging wind, and even an isolated tornado near Sioux City. This cluster of storms moved through far southeast South Dakota, northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota during the evening.

May 12, 2022

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@MORE1049 - March 09, 2019 13:31

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@kicdradio - March 09, 2019 13:30