(Daily Caller News Foundation) — One person died Wednesday after a powerful storm delivering strong winds swept through the Midwest, turning a semitrailer on its side in Iowa and killing the driver, the Associated Press reported.
The storm, which hit parts of Nebraska, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa, led to more than 20 tornado reports in the region Wednesday, and the most reports of hurricane-force winds of any day since 2004, according to the AP. The storm delivered hurricane-force winds of 75 mph or higher.
A powerful storm system tore across states in the Great Plains and Midwest on Wednesday. This video shows a storm bearing down on Glenwood, Iowa. https://t.co/KIFxX8bZHj pic.twitter.com/eAF5gK51Kf
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 16, 2021
“To have this number of damaging wind storms at one time would be unusual anytime of year,” Brian Barjenbruch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Valley, Nebraska, told the AP. “But to have this happen in December is really abnormal.”
Troopers have responded to a number of high profile vehicles tipping over during today’s high winds and severe storms.
This one happened right in front of a trooper on I-80 in Lincoln at about 3:30 pm.
Thankfully the driver was wearing a seat belt and was not injured. pic.twitter.com/liJTqp8pCX
— Nebraska State Patrol (@NEStatePatrol) December 16, 2021
The storm was traveling north of the Great Lakes into Canada on Thursday, delivering strong winds and snow, according to the AP. Nearly 400,000 homes and businesses lost power Thursday morning in Wisconsin and Michigan alone, according to poweroutage.us.
The National Weather Service issued a high-wind warning everywhere from New Mexico to Michigan, according to the AP, and winds as high as 80-100 mph were recorded in Texas and Colorado.
Wednesday’s storm hit one week after a series of deadly tornadoes ripped through Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois and Kentucky, killing over 85 people.
