SKYDRAMA.NET | As a meteorologist and storm chaser born and raised right here in the middle of derecho alley, I’ve got a growing list of derecho battle stories. One of my earliest memories of a specific storm growing up was the June 29th, 1998 Cornbelt Derecho. This video isn’t about the science of derechos, it’s about gawking at the shear insanity of these storms, sometimes referred to as inland hurricanes. These are my top 5 derecho encounters over the last 20 years. Derecho Links: August 13 2007 Derecho Info: https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/archives/460 June 23 2010 NWS Summary: https://www.weather.gov/lot/2010jun23 August 10 2020 Derecho Story Map: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f98352e2153b4865b99ba53b86021b65 June 29 2023 Derecho NWS Summary: https://www.weather.gov/ilx/june29_derecho July 15 2024 Chicago NWS Summary: https://www.weather.gov/lot/2024_07_15_Derecho https://www.spc.noaa.gov/misc/AbtDerechos/papers/FujitaWakimoto_1981.pdf https://www.weather.gov/lot/2020aug10 https://chubasco.niu.edu/pubs/Ashley%20et%20al.%202007%20Met%20Apps.pdf https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/deadly-derecho-midwest-chicago

SKYDRAMA.NET | Another summer, another derecho in the Midwest. On July 15th, 2024 severe storms with destructive winds over 80 mph swept through Iowa and Illinois. I followed the storms from Geneseo in northwest Illinois back to my home in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Spent the night with no power fighting water in the basement. Am very tired. Full VLOG to come.

On June 23rd, 2010 a hybrid derecho, or a damaging line of severe thunderstorms swept across northern Illinois and surrounding portions of the Midwest and Great Lakes, with numerous reports of significant wind damage and a couple of tornadoes. I intercepted the line of storms in Oglesby, Illinois just off of Interstate 39 and observed a gnarly shelf cloud, high winds, and several close lightning strikes. Be sure to subscribe to the channel, so you don't miss the next storm!

This is my entire storm chase from August 13th, 2007 digitally archived from MiniDV tape. We all do crazy things when we’re 20 years old, and on August 13th, 2007, when prospects for a Minnesota tornado began to fade, I parked myself directly in the path of a raging high-precipitation supercell loaded with hail and high winds just because… it felt like a fun thing to do that Monday evening. It was mid-August 2007, and the summer death ridge had set in across the Central U.S. - but atop the ridge, fast jet stream flow was leading to a period of stormy weather across the Upper Midwest. A moderate risk was in place across Minnesota on August 13th, and vacationing in Wisconsin at the time I figured I’d make the drive across the river and play in the volatile environment in place across the southern half of the state. By mid-evening it was clear the warm sector was capped and tornadic storms were unlikely across the chaseable southern half of the risk area, so I bolted north into the forest after the only storm in play - a powerful supercell thunderstorm storm that was nearly off the charts on the ole radar dial. This is my entire chase from August 13th, 2007, digitally archived from MiniDV tape. Be sure to like & subscribe to the channel so you don't miss the next storm! // 0:00 Introduction 1:17 Approaching the storm 3:45 Storm overtakes me 12:25 Late night bow echo

This is a snippet of coverage that I provided for Illinois Public Media from Farmer City, Illinois as a damaging line of thunderstorms caused wind damage and power outages across central Illinois. I did this live report from my car surrounded by damage in Farmer City. I appreciate the platform that IPM News, AM 580/FM 90.9 gives me to provide this critical weather information to central Illinois when severe weather strikes.

A derecho swept through central Illinois on June 29th, 2023 bringing 80 MPH winds and embedded tornadoes, toppling trees and powerlines and causing minor damage to homes and businesses in the area. Full VLOG episode from this event soon... once I have power again at home! // // Skydrama on social media: Twitter: @skydrama Instagram: @skydrama Web: Skydrama.Photography

A long-lived MCS/bow echo, or derecho produced widespread significant wind damage from Iowa to northern Illinois on August 10th. I intercept the storm along Hwy 47 near Morris, Illinois and then filmed damage along Hwy 47 from Yorkville to Dwight. Andrew Pritchard | @skydrama | Skydrama.Photography