Last week’s tornado outbreak and derecho event was historic for several reasons, and more records have been broken as more data and surveys have been received by the National Weather Service.

As of Wednesday, 43 tornadoes were confirmed on December 15th in Iowa — the most ever in a single day, regardless of the time of year. National Weather Service Science and Operations Officer Mike Fowle says the widespread wind storm was classified as a derecho as well, and while it formed differently than the August 2020 event, it still made history for its size and wind gusts.

Locally, damage was reported throughout area communities due to wind speeds up to 70 MPH — both during the thunderstorm warnings and for a high wind event. Fowle says the damage seen across Iowa would be rare during a spring or summer event, let alone just days before Christmas.

Hear more about last week’s historic storm on today’s Let’s Talk Pella.