Statewide Iowa — Many Iowans would like to forget much of 2020, but the powerful storm that slammed the state last August is being remembered in great detail in a new book, “Derecho 911: Iowa’s Inland Hurricane.”
Retired T-V meteorologist Terry Swails and his journalist wife, Carolyn Wettstone, co-authored the book about the unprecedented windstorm that devastated their home state.
While Swails offers an in-depth look at the weather patterns and conditions that created the storm, Wettstone focuses on the human-interest perspective. He says it’s important to preserve the narratives of the people who lived through the natural disaster.
The damaging derecho was a stunning surprise and Swails says no one could have predicted how quickly it intensified.
Winds in the storm peaked around 140 miles-an-hour in the Cedar Rapids area, shearing off up to 70-percent of the city’s tree canopy. Those winds were so powerful, they were the equivalent of an E-F-3 tornado or a category-four hurricane.
The couple now lives in Portland, Maine and happened to sell their Marion home just prior to the derecho. Order the book through the website: derechobook.com.
