Devastation’s Shadow: Cedar Rapids’ Dire Derecho Unleashes Nightfall on Trees

What is it and why is it called that? 

Wikipedia defines a Derecho as a long-lived windstorm usually coupled with showers or thunderstorms. NOAA says a derecho is as fast as some tornados but instead of spiraling these are straight-line winds which is where it gets its name, derecho is a Spanish word meaning “straight ahead”. Derecho’s most times occur across portions of the eastern two-thirds of the US. The derecho is like a tornado giving you little time to prepare for its arrival. A severe thunderstorm warning is the only warning you will receive.  

The deluge the Derecho brought to Cedar Rapids 

The anniversary is quickly approaching. August 10, 2020, was the day the derecho rolled into town. The National Weather Service says the derecho is not long-lasting but delivers quite the punch in their short visit. I don’t know if an hour would be considered a short visit when it comes to dangerous storms. Cedar Rapids found that out the hard way. The City of Cedar Rapids reported that it lost approximately 670,000 trees. Iowa DNR reported Des Moines and Davenport lost as many as 7.2 million trees.  

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It looks a little bit bigger.  

If you’ve driven around Cedar Rapids, it looks bigger. You can see through the trees where you could not before. That’s if there are any trees left to see through. The Cedar Memorial Cemetary was almost hidden from view. It was tucked away and driving down 1st Avenue you’d have not known it was there or how large it is. Now you can see a lot of it.  

 There are trees you can and cannot plant, what are they? 

With the help of the City of Cedar Rapids and associations like Releaf Cedar Rapids, they’re trying to help the tree population rebound and get Cedar Rapids back to the lush canopy it once had. Find the trees most likely to survive in the Cedar Rapids climate listed. As well as trees that are restricted. These are the trees