The Storm
At 2 p.m. on the afternoon of July 15, a weak area of low pressure was stationed over eastern South Dakota, adjacent to a warm front that extended southeast through southern Minnesota into eastern Iowa. Ahead (north) of the warm front was an area of hot, dry air: the high temperature for the day at Eau Claire was 93°F (34°C) and 93°F (34°C) in the Twin Cities. South of the front was very humid, hot air: Cedar Rapids, Iowa had a high temperature of 98°F (37°C).
As the afternoon progressed, the warm front moved into the drier air to the north, pulling with it the moist air over the dry air. Regional meteorologists were aware of the potential for thunderstorms because of the low pressure system and the intense heat and moisture, but no one could have predicted the storm that would develop that night.
As the storm raced through St Croix, Pierce, Dunn, Eau Claire, Chippewa, and Clark counties, it caused a band of damage more than 20 miles (30 km) wide. A maximum wind speed of 112 mph (180 km/h) was recorded at the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport, while 100 mph wind was recorded in the city of Eau Claire. At 9:39 p.m., WEAU-TV broadcast an alert from the National Weather Service about one of several tornado warnings that evening for Eau Claire County; moments later, the station lost power and went off-the-air. Seven of the city's eight radio stations were still off-the-air the next morning. Up to 97 percent of Northern States Power customers in Eau Claire were left without power following the storm.
By 10 p.m., with the most intense part of the storm winding down, the area of low pressure was directly over western Wisconsin. Behind the low, air had cooled considerably, with the Twin Cities reporting temperatures in the upper 60s (°F). In addition to being tremendously destructive, the storm was considerably long-lived. The same system produced severe derechos through Illinois and Michigan overnight and into the following day. The system was estimated to have caused $650M ($1.3B in 2003 dollars) in damage across the four states.
Read more about this topic: Western Wisconsin Derecho
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