New Estimate of 140 MPH Derecho Gust in Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids, IA (KROC-AM News) - The National Weather Service is now estimating that wind gusts around 140-miles-per-hour hit sections of Cedar Rapids, during last week's catastrophic Derecho wind storm.

The updated estimate is based on an inspection of the damage to an apartment complex in the southwest part of the eastern Iowa city. The National Weather Service says that is comparable to the winds produced by an EF-3 tornado.

While the 140 mile-per-hour gust is an estimate, the National Weather Service is also reporting there was a measured gust of 126-miles-per-hour in the town of Aitkin just west of Cedar Rapids. That set a new record for the highest non-tornado wind ever recorded in Iowa. The National Weather Service website says the previous record of 123-miles-per-hour was recorded in an area south of Cedar Rapids when another devastating Derecho ripped across Iowa on June 29, 1998.

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