Derecho in the Sauk Valley: 1 year later

It’s been a year since the Midwest derecho storms went through the Sauk Valley, downing trees and power lines and damaging crops along the way.

The line of severe storms traveled 770 miles across eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois for 14 hours on Aug. 10, 2020, producing widespread wind gusts of 100 mph, topping out at 140 mph in Cedar Rapids. Millions of acres of corn and soybean crops were damaged, mostly in Iowa.

Damage from the 2020 Derecho is estimated at $11 billion, the most expensive thunderstorm in U.S. history, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In Whiteside County, the storms sent trees toppling across several roads, from Third Street in Sterling to Moline Road between Lyndon and Rock Falls and many others in between. State Route 84 from Albany to the Carroll County line was littered with downed trees and branches.

In Lee County, the high winds tipped over a pair of semi trucks on U.S. Route 39. The drivers were not injured.

More than 700,000 people lost power across northern Illinois.

That night, ComEd reported 10,507 customers in Whiteside County still with no power, as well as 2,659 customers in Lee County, 920 in Carroll County and 2,983 in Ogle County.

A small pocket of winds estimated at 100 to 110 mph impacted Princeton in Bureau County, where a 150-foot communications tower collapsed and numerous power poles were snapped.