Storms in Iowa last night were part of a derecho. What is a derecho?

The storm that Iowans experienced Monday was part of a derecho.

“The derecho began in Iowa and went through portions of Illinois and southern Wisconsin into Indiana and southern Michigan,” Matthew Elliott, a warning coordination meteorologist with the Storm Prediction Center and National Weather Service, said in an email to the Des Moines Register on Tuesday morning.

It formed in the Des Moines area, where it produced a tornado that hit the northwest side of the metro, and picked up intensity as it moved eastward, said Jesse Castillo, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des Moines. 

Wind guests reached 78 mph in Jasper County, according to preliminary reports from NWS. Jasper County saw 70 mph gusts and 60-75 mph wind gusts were reported near Pella, Montezuma and Oskaloosa.

There are no reports of wind gusts in the Des Moines metro at this time, Castillo said.

Many Iowans in the metro and on the Iowa side of the Quad Cities were without power Monday and into Tuesday. In Urbandale, at least 10 homes were damaged.

The derecho caused widespread wind damage from Iowa to Indiana, according to a post on X from NOAA.

This derecho comes nearly two months after severe thunderstorms that swept from central Nebraska, through Iowa and into northwest Illinois on May 24, also were classified as a derecho event, according to NWS Quad Cities.

What is a derecho?

A derecho is a type of severe thunderstorm event, according to NWS. It’s a “widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms.”

A severe weather event may be classified as a derecho when the swath of wind damage extends more than 240 miles and includes wind gusts of at least 58 mph or greater throughout most of its length, according to NWS.

Iowans likely remember a derecho that ripped through the Midwest on Aug. 10, 2020, causing $11 billion in damage — the most expensive thunderstorm in history. A large area from central Iowa to north central Illinois saw wind gusts of 70-80 mph, with gusts of more than 100 mph in a few areas.

Paris Barraza is a trending and general assignment reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at pbarraza@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.