On August 10, 2020, the midwest was hit by a derecho—a rare inland hurricane. The August derecho was the most costly thunderstorm disaster in U.S. history. Straight-line winds as high as 140 mph were recorded. The storm complex, blamed on four deaths, hit Cedar Rapids, Iowa, particularly hard, cutting power to the entire city for a week or more, and damaging most of its businesses and homes. Over $11 billion in damages were reported.

The winds, which lasted 40 minutes or more, laid waste to millions of acres of crops and brought down an estimated 675,000 trees in the city of Cedar Rapids alone.

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