August derecho slams parts of the Midwest this week 

While stifling heat and humidity have been an overarching theme across much of Missouri and Kansas this week, our neighbors just to the north and east have been slammed by vicious summer storms. This weather pattern is often coined the 'ring of fire', featuring a corridor of active and stormy weather that rides along the outer periphery of a heat dome, also known as an upper level ridge.

The summertime ring of fire regime helped spawn a powerful Derecho that slammed parts of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio causing widespread wind damage on Tuesday, Aug. 11 2026. 

A Derecho is a fast moving band or cluster of thunderstorms that produces destructive winds over a large area. To be classified as a Derecho, rather than a typical severe thunderstorm event, it must produce a swath of wind gusts at or above 58 mph for more than 250 miles. Winds within a derecho often exceed 75 mph in certain locations within the line of storms. 

Tuesday’s Derecho easily meets criteria, producing severe winds for well over 300 miles. Numerous wind reports exceeded 75 mph in parts of Northern Illinois and Indiana, including a handful of gusts clocked between 95 and 100 mph. Not surprisingly, damage is extensive across much of the Chicago metro and surrounding suburbs. 

Interestingly, the costliest derecho in U.S. history struck sections of eastern Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois (among other states) 6 years ago this week, on Aug. 10 2020. The strongest measured wind gust is this record setting derecho was clocked at 126 mph just west of Cedar Rapids Iowa. Peak winds were estimated as high as 140 mph in Cedar Rapids, one of many hard hit areas along the 770 mile path totaling 11.2 million dollars in damages. 

It may come as a surprise that winds of 80 to 100 mph struck parts of the Kansas City metro just last week as severe storms rolled through just after midnight on Thursday,  Aug. 6 2026. Straight-line winds left damage to trees and structures in a 2 mile wide, 9 mile long swath from parts of Belton to Raymore. This was much too small an area to be considered a derecho, yet the intensity of wind damage in spots was comparable to a high-end derecho event.