2020 Midwest Derecho
The 2020 derecho in the Midwest was a severe windstorm that caused extensive damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure in several states, including Iowa and Illinois, resulting in widespread power outages, transportation disruptions, and at least four deaths.
The RAPID Facility supported the deployment of instrumentation to Iowa for the collection of perishable wind event data. The StEER-managed project, led by Franklin Lombardo, assistant professor at the University of Illinois, used the RAPID’s Applied Streetview camera to collect 360-degree images of wind-damaged areas.
Christine Wittich, assistant professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, used RAPID iPads equipped with the RAPID RApp app to collect and curate reconnaissance data of rural and agricultural structures affected by the derecho in eastern Nebraska, as well as central and western Iowa.
