Some in the Midwest could be without electricity for days after an “intense derecho” knocked out power for more than 1 million people.
Wind gusts of over 70 mph were recorded in several states as the storm trekked from South Dakota to Ohio on Monday, according to the National Weather Service. One portion of central Iowa suffered “hurricane-force” winds of more than 90 mph.
Roughly 560,000 people in the Chicago area were left without power, according to ComEd, an Illinois utility provider.
This storm caused significant damage, including downed poles, broken lines & tree-related damage. We expect that it will take multiple days to restore service to all of the customers affected, & recommend customers take any steps they feel necessary to keep themselves safe. (2/4) pic.twitter.com/dBtBbc0uJu
— ComEd (@ComEd) August 11, 2020
“Our crews have restored power to 260,000+ customers after a derecho with wind gusts of 80+ miles per hour, over 4,000 lightning strikes and golf-ball-sized hail moved across our service area. Approximately 560,000 customers remain without power,” ComEd tweeted.
“This storm caused significant damage, including downed poles, broken lines & tree-related damage. We expect that it will take multiple days to restore service to all of the customers affected, & recommend customers take any steps they feel necessary to keep themselves safe,” the company added.
In total, 1.2 million people lost power during the storm. By Tuesday morning, more than 1 million were still without electricity. The lengths of the outages will vary by state. Officials in Ames, Iowa, said the outage there could last “hours or days.”
