1 dead as Midwest storm brings hurricane-force wind gusts

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One idiosyncratic has died arsenic a almighty tempest strategy swept crossed the Great Plains and Midwest, authorities said, bringing hurricane-force upwind gusts and spawning reported tornadoes successful Nebraska and Iowa.

OMAHA, Neb. – One idiosyncratic has died arsenic a almighty tempest strategy swept crossed the Great Plains and Midwest, authorities said, bringing hurricane-force upwind gusts and spawning reported tornadoes successful Nebraska and Iowa.

A semitrailer was struck by precocious winds and rolled onto its broadside connected southbound U.S. Highway 151 successful eastbound Iowa connected Wednesday evening arsenic terrible upwind moved done the area, sidesplitting the driver, the Iowa State Patrol said.

The tempest was shifting northbound of the Great Lakes into Canada connected Thursday, with precocious winds, snow, and hazardous conditions continuing successful the precocious Great Lakes region, the National Weather Service said. More than 400,000 homes and businesses were without energy Thursday greeting successful Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa and Kansas, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks inferior reports.

There were much than 20 tornado reports Wednesday successful the Plains states, scattered done eastbound Nebraska and Iowa, based connected preliminary reports to the Storm Prediction Center.

The time besides saw the astir reports of hurricane-force upwind gusts — 75 mph (120 kph) oregon higher — of immoderate time since 2004, the Storm Prediction Center said.

“To person this fig of damaging upwind storms astatine 1 clip would beryllium antithetic anytime of year,” said Brian Barjenbruch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service successful Valley, Nebraska. “But to person this hap successful December is truly abnormal.”

The strategy came connected the heels of devastating tornadoes past play that chopped a way done states including Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois and Kentucky, sidesplitting more than 85 people.

The beardown winds besides whipped up particulate that reduced visibility to zero westbound of Wakeeney, Kansas, the authorities Department of Transportation said, and caused astatine slightest 4 semitrailers to stroke over. Kansas officials closed Interstate 70 from the Colorado borderline to Salina, arsenic good arsenic each authorities highways successful 9 counties successful northwest Kansas.

The National Weather Service had issued a precocious upwind informing for an country stretching from New Mexico to precocious Michigan, including Wisconsin and Illinois. Gusts topping 80 mph (129 kph) were recorded successful the Texas Panhandle and occidental Kansas. The upwind work said an automated reflection tract successful Lamar, Colorado, recorded a gust of 107 mph (172 kph) Wednesday morning. Wind gusts of 100 mph were reported successful Russell, Kansas.

Greg Butcher, the metropolis head successful Seward, Nebraska, said helium was lasting successful his bureau astatine metropolis hallway Wednesday erstwhile helium saw a elephantine partition of unreality rolling toward him. Butcher said helium braced for a large deed but truthful acold the worst harm appears to beryllium a fewer toppled telephone poles.

“We lucked out,” Butcher said. “It came successful truly fast.”

Officials besides warned of a unsafe occurrence hazard on the occidental borderline of the upwind system, wherever conditions were dry.

Scientists accidental utmost upwind events and warmer temperatures, overmuch similar what’s happening, are much apt to hap with human-caused clime change. However, scientifically attributing a circumstantial lawsuit similar this tempest strategy to planetary warming requires circumstantial investigation and machine simulations that instrumentality time, haven’t been done and sometimes amusement nary wide connection.

“I deliberation we besides request to halt asking the question of whether oregon not this lawsuit was caused by clime change. All events nowadays are augmented by clime change,” said Northern Illinois University meteorology prof Victor Gensini. “We request to beryllium asking, `To what grade did clime alteration play a relation and however apt was this lawsuit to hap successful the lack of clime change?'”

The unusually lukewarm temperatures connected Wednesday were owed successful portion to grounds precocious water temperatures successful the Gulf of Mexico, which wouldn’t person happened without planetary warming, said Jeff Masters, a Yale Climate Connections meteorologist who cofounded Weather Underground.

The strategy blew into the Plains from Colorado, wherever precocious winds knocked retired power, closed roads and highways and delayed oregon canceled hundreds of flights. The upwind work said a upwind gust of 100 mph (160 kph) was recorded connected the airfield astatine the Air Force Academy successful Colorado Springs.

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Stafford reported from Liberty, Missouri.

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Associated Press writers Jill Bleed successful Little Rock, Arkansas; Ken Miller successful Oklahoma City; Terry Wallace successful Dallas; Seth Borenstein successful Washington D.C.; Jim Anderson successful Denver and Grant Schulte successful Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.

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