August 18, 2020: Derecho-damaged trees in Keystone. Sign says “Thanks firemen, Dave M and all volunteers. We appreciate you!!” See this blog post for more pictures.
“You have 20 minutes!” I said to the front desk as I left the fitness center Aug. 10, 2020, having watched the progress of a large thunderstorm on the TVs. Just another line of severe weather.
Around 12:36, the power went out. I’ve had the power go out before. Two weeks earlier, in fact, I had an issue after a thunderstorm where my kitchen had electricity but my computer room didn’t. It was annoying.
Little did I know.
The derecho left my place without electricity for eight days and ten hours, and without Internet for nearly two weeks. I spent more than a week commuting an hour each way. I was very, very fortunate.
For at least one night, Traer was the only community in Tama County with electricity (or so it appeared from space), and the day after, it was the closest place to Marshalltown with functioning gas stations. The angle of the corn got worse the closer you got to US 30 until it was flat. The area was flooded with utility trucks for weeks; I saw some with Michigan plates in Vining.
Here’s a link to a lot of KWWL drone videos of damage.
In October 2020, the derecho was deemed the most costly thunderstorm event in U.S. history. In June 2021, the cost was revised upward to $11 billion … and counting.