Iowa derecho

Bill

Touchdown! Greaser!
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@James_Dean , hoping you guys weren't hit by the massive winds from the storm. Sending good thoughts to the peoples of the mid-west hit by this monster storm.
 
So crazy to see that. I heard that peak gusts were 115 mph or so.
 
My daughter rode it out. She sent a video of her kitchen window so we could hear it groan against the wind.
 
Just saw some pictures from the FBO I used to fly out of in Marion (C17)
117708933_1105408033188294_6684682418266654822_n.jpg
 
Our friends lost numerous trees and a vehicle. House seems intact from the pictures I saw. Cedar Rapids area. We got the tail of the storm in Central IL. No damage for us but plenty of wind and rain.
 
Just saw some pictures from the FBO I used to fly out of in Marion (C17)
117708933_1105408033188294_6684682418266654822_n.jpg
I used to fly out of C17 too! McBride field before that....
Oh man... So glad Perry isn't around to see that... Is Jan still with us?
 
I used to fly out of C17 too! McBride field before that....
Oh man... So glad Perry isn't around to see that... Is Jan still with us?

Last I heard, she's still instructing regularly at C17. I've been out of there for a year and a half, but am headed back this weekend
 
Last I heard, she's still instructing regularly at C17. I've been out of there for a year and a half, but am headed back this weekend
Well, I'm sure the mountain lion is long gone... I miss that place... When I went there for my BFR, I kept announcing McBride traffic, Cessna 13198! McBride was still somewhat active at that time...
 
Oh man... So glad Perry isn't around to see that... Is Jan still with us?

She's still around.

I flew down around Cedar Rapids yesterday to look at the storm damage. I didn't stop at Marion but when I flew over I thought it looked better than the descriptions I had been hearing. Regardless, everything is a mess across central Iowa.
 
44B70DA9-10AE-4081-AA6E-3AB77C49704A.png The DesMoines NWS Twitter has some photos.

Those lighter streaks across Iowa are damaged corn crops. Corn right now here is approx 6’ or more. That’s millions of acres laying on the ground.
 
The DesMoines NWS Twitter has some photos.

Those lighter streaks across Iowa are damaged corn crops. Corn right now here is approx 6’ or more. That’s millions of acres laying on the ground.

Judging by what I saw, I think a lot of it will straighten back up and be fine. But some of it is obviously lost.
 
It's going to be a miserable fall of having to keep the snoots on the ground to try to pick that stuff up off the ground to try to squeeze out triple digit yields. There will be a lot of deadheading to the other end of the field as they'll probably have to run the combines against the grain to try to pick it up. Yuck... Makes my neck and back ache just thinking about hanging over that header like a hawk. Buy stock in corn header replacement parts and feeder housing rock guard mods.

My in-laws in central IA northeast of DSM are still without power as of this evening -- and they live 'in town'.
 
View attachment 88795 The DesMoines NWS Twitter has some photos.

Those lighter streaks across Iowa are damaged corn crops. Corn right now here is approx 6’ or more. That’s millions of acres laying on the ground.

About 10mm acres heavily damaged, which is about 1/3 of the Iowa corn crop. The bigger issue from what I'm reading might be the number of grain elevators & bins destroyed. Bad deal in an already tough year.

Hey @Martin Pauly how's things in Cedar Rapids? Any damage at CID?
 
About 10mm acres heavily damaged, which is about 1/3 of the Iowa corn crop. The bigger issue from what I'm reading might be the number of grain elevators & bins destroyed. Bad deal in an already tough year.

Hey @Martin Pauly how's things in Cedar Rapids? Any damage at CID?

I know Martin is ok and his plane and hangar are ok. He's posted some photos on FB and been on BT, but he said internet access has been off and on.
 
About 10mm acres heavily damaged, which is about 1/3 of the Iowa corn crop. The bigger issue from what I'm reading might be the number of grain elevators & bins destroyed. Bad deal in an already tough year.

^^ This. Probably the worst possible time for this as most everywhere is trying to get every bin empty in prep for the next couple of months. Empty grain bin = vulnerable grain bin. I've seen pics of co-ops where the grain leg is laying across the top of 4 of the 750k bu bins which already look like half-deflated balloons. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in small town Iowa where the local grain elevator is the last thing keeping the town going.
 
Hey @Martin Pauly how's things in Cedar Rapids? Any damage at CID?
Yes, thanks, we are OK. We got electricity and internet back. We have a generator which I bought 12 years ago - fortunately it still worked! No big trees in our relatively young neighborhood, which is probably what saved us. A lot of Cedar Rapids is - well, was - full of tall trees, and the number of power lines and houses damaged by trees is like nothing we have ever seen before.

The main airport (KCID) faired quite well. Marion (C17) not so much - I feel bad for them; they had just reopened their runway a couple of weeks ago after a year or so of reconstruction. Now they are down again.

At CID, there was only slight damage to the roof of a couple of T hangars - as far I as know, no aircraft were damaged. Power is still out at the airport as I am writing this three days later. The FBO and the terminal are running on generators, but the gates and hangar doors don't work.

As I wrote on BeechTalk, it's not the severity of the damage to any one place or dwelling, but the fact that it happened to half a million people all at once which makes this so devastating. Many people will be without power for days (or weeks in some cases) to come.

We are all surprised by how little news coverage there is of this event and the aftermath. 112 mph wind makes this equivalent to a category 3 hurricane - in the Midwest!!! Or the very top-end of the range of an F1 tornado - only this "tornado" was 20+ miles wide. The amount of destruction is hard to imagine, and yet...

- Martin
 
I was wondering why the Collins guys didn't show up for their own teleconference on Tuesday...

I found out later that they had no power or phone coverage.

I hope they all survived and can get back to work soon!
 
Have to ask, as I never heard of this before. In my area, derecho is spanish for right or right side ... is this wind event named for turn tendency?
 
It can mean right or straight. And as these are straight-line winds....
 
Little under 3 minute video highlighting storm damage to agriculture.
https://www.agriculture.com/video/s...utm_content=081320&cid=550478&mid=38816318989
No damage to speak of at Iowa City. My farm is OK, but I have all soybeans this year. Some corn nearby is affected. Some is bent over and will come back; some is snapped off and is dead. It's too early to tell how much real crop damage we have. The Monday USDA crop condition report will be the first formal attempt. Corn futures prices are up but even though this affect a lot of acres, we're talking about a very small percentage of the world corn crop.
Local users like ethanol plants and feeders will be affected most. Exporters will source corn wherever it's cheapest.
Farmers will have a deuce of a time harvesting and may be hard-pressed to find storage. If there is a shortage of storage that will depress local prices even if futures do run up, as farmers will be forcedto sell off the combine (right out of the field). You can't reliably let corn stand in the field much past maturity.
I flew from near Iowa City northwest of Cedar Rapids, over by Marion, down by Tipton. Modest corn damage where I am, some fields totally flat up west of Cedr Rapids. Many grain bins down east of Cedar Rapids.
I was through the derecho in 1998 which reached 120 mph and damaged or destroyed every building on my farm. My weather station showed a peak gust of 73mph on this one and none of my towers or trees were damaged.
 
Echt? Wir haben viele deutsche Sprecher. Gibt es ein Piloten von Deutsche Amerika website? ;) :D
 
@James_Dean , hoping you guys weren't hit by the massive winds from the storm. Sending good thoughts to the peoples of the mid-west hit by this monster storm.

Thankfully, we didn't have any damage to physical assets. There is a egg layer farm I'm aware of that sustained damage that will reach to eight figures before any business interruption. The damage to the corn crop is still being assessed, but with the record predicted carry out it is kind of a yawn.
 
Echt? Wir haben viele deutsche Sprecher. Gibt es ein Piloten von Deutsche Amerika website? ;) :D
Relax, Neal, Martin is an acquaintance of mine who's contact information I lost and I'm trying to get in touch with him. I won't besmirch your web site.
 
Relax, Neal, Martin is an acquaintance of mine who's contact information I lost and I'm trying to get in touch with him. I won't besmirch your web site.
I am relaxed. I just enjoy using my (awful) German from time to time. Just having fun.
 
Found out yesterday that a family friend lost her cousin in the storm. I don't know details, apparently a tree fell on her house. She was killed, her kids are OK.
 
Found out yesterday that a family friend lost her cousin in the storm. I don't know details, apparently a tree fell on her house. She was killed, her kids are OK.
:(
 
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