Wind, hail can cause major damage during storms
WLS
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CHICAGO (WLS) -- When we think of severe weather many of us immediately think tornadoes, but wind and hail storms can also cause serious damage. The Midwest Derecho of 2020 stretched from Nebraska all the way through Illinois and Indiana, and left widespread damage in its wake. The primary driver of all the destruction? Not tornadoes, but straight-line winds.
"If you have a storm in motion and it's able to channel atmospheric winds from mid-levels, some really strong winds," said Eric Lenning from the National Weather Service. "It can channel those winds and force them down to the surface along with the motion of the storm. So, we call that straight-line winds because they generally come in and spread out in a straight line."