Dec. 15 storms across north-central US classified as derecho
O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) — A line of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes that swept across the north-central U.S. last week was the result of a serial derecho — the first on record in December, officials with the National Weather Service said Monday.
At least 45 tornadoes have been preliminarily confirmed in the Dec. 15 storms that crossed the Great Plains and Midwest amid unseasonably warm temperatures, said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the weather service's Storm Prediction Center. Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota took the brunt of the damage.
Bunting said at least 12 of the tornadoes were rated EF-2. Many of the thunderstorms also carried winds of up to 80 mph (129 kph). Five deaths were blamed on the weather.
Bunting said that normally in December, air from the Gulf of Mexico has cooled, and colder air is present in the upper Midwest — factors that reduce the risk of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. But this year, "we haven't had much of a winter," he said.
https://krcgtv.com/news/nation-world/dec-15-storms-across-north-central-us-classified-as-derecho
