Campus Alert Archive
Iowa State

100 MPH Winds Across Ames: Iowa State Loses Power in the August 2020 Derecho

IAsevere stormemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

At approximately 11:00 AM CDT on August 10, 2020, hurricane-force straight-line winds from the August 2020 Midwest derecho tore across Ames, Iowa, downing trees throughout the Iowa State University campus and knocking out the ISU power plant. The storm became the costliest thunderstorm event in US history at over $12 billion. With graduate students and early-arriving residential staff already on campus weeks before fall 2020 classes were scheduled to resume in person, Iowa State issued an ISU Alert directing the campus community to shelter in interior rooms.

Alerts
3
Response
30 min
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Iowa State University
Public R1 · IA
~33,000 studentsEverbridgeISU Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from ISU News Service derecho debrief and standard NWS-aligned ISU Alert templates180 chars
ISU Alert: Severe thunderstorm with damaging winds is impacting campus. Seek shelter immediately in an interior room on the lowest floor. Stay away from windows. Updates to follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Sent during the 10-20 minute window when winds in Ames peaked above 80-100 MPH
National Weather Service Des Moines gave 20-40 minutes of warning before the derecho hit Ames -- a short but adequate lead time
ISU Alert is typically reserved for active threats; severe weather messaging is more often handled through the campus mass-notification system rather than emergency alerts
The shelter instruction (interior room, lowest floor, away from windows) is the standard ISU Alert template for severe weather
UPDATEWebsite
Approximate reconstructionISU News Service storm recovery updates page (text reconstructed)306 chars
Campus power outage updates are available on the ISU News Service website and Twitter. Power is out across campus due to derecho damage. Avoid downed trees and power lines. Iowa State Facilities Planning and Management crews are responding. If you smell gas, evacuate the building immediately and call 911.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Posted by ISU News Service alongside official Twitter @IowaStateU updates -- the university's primary channel during the multi-hour power outage
The downed-tree warning reflected the unique signature of the August 2020 derecho -- which uprooted thousands of mature trees across the Ames campus
ISU Facilities Planning and Management crews worked overnight to clear debris and restore the campus power loop
The 'smell gas' instruction was a precaution against natural gas line damage from fallen trees -- a hazard the August derecho posed in unusual concentration
ALL CLEAREmail+1d
Verified verbatimISU News Service official storm recovery update, August 11, 2020350 chars
Power has been restored to the College of Veterinary Medicine, Wallace, Wilson and Buchanan residence halls, Schilletter Village, and most of University Village as of 3:45 p.m. Tuesday. Crews continue to work on remaining outages. Avoid downed trees and power lines across campus. Building-specific updates will continue through the ISU News Service.
ISU News Service published this update at 3:45 PM CDT on August 11, exactly when power was restored to the named buildings
The named residence halls (Wallace, Wilson, Buchanan) were among the first to be repowered because they had pre-arrival residential staff already on site
Schilletter Village and University Village house graduate student families -- a population with infants and elderly relatives that required priority restoration
Context

Background

The August 2020 Midwest derecho was the costliest thunderstorm event in US history -- $12.1 billion in damages -- yet it was barely on any forecaster's radar 24 hours before it struck. When the storm reached Iowa State University in Ames around 11:00 AM CDT on August 10, 2020, sustained winds exceeded 80 MPH with gusts to 100+ MPH in Marshall, Tama, Benton, Linn, and Jones counties to the east. The ISU power plant tripped offline; campus lost power from 11:00 AM through 10:00 PM that night. Across Ames and the Iowa State campus, thousands of mature trees were uprooted, blocking roads, crushing vehicles, and damaging residence hall windows. Iowa State ran power restoration updates through the ISU News Service and Twitter overnight, with priority given to the College of Veterinary Medicine (live animals), Schilletter and University Village (graduate student families), and the Wallace/Wilson/Buchanan residence halls (early-arriving staff). Power was fully restored to those facilities by 3:45 PM CDT on August 11. Across Iowa, 1.9 million customers experienced outages, some for more than a week. Four people died in the broader storm, though no Iowa State community members were among the fatalities.
Analysis

Key Findings

One of the few major US universities directly in the path of a derecho during student-arrival season -- mid-August with early-arriving staff and graduate students already on campus
ISU power plant tripped offline at storm peak, leaving the campus without electricity for approximately 11 hours
Priority restoration sequence prioritized live animals (Vet College), families with infants (Schilletter/University Village), and staff housing (Wallace/Wilson/Buchanan) -- a triage logic rarely visible in routine emergencies
National Weather Service gave only 20-40 minutes of warning before the derecho hit Ames -- a tight window that nonetheless was enough for ISU Alert to push a shelter message
Outcome
Campus power was out from approximately 11:00 AM CDT August 10 through 10:00 PM CDT that night. Power was fully restored to the College of Veterinary Medicine, Wallace, Wilson, Buchanan residence halls, Schilletter Village, and most of University Village by 3:45 PM CDT on August 11. No campus fatalities were reported, though the broader storm killed four people across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana. Iowa State Facilities Planning and Management worked through the night to clear downed trees and restore the campus electrical loop.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    A derecho debrief: Not even a scientist/storm chaser expected the August 10 storm -- Iowa State News Service
    news.iastate.edu
  2. Official
    Storm recovery updates -- Iowa State News Service
    news.iastate.edu
  3. Source
    August 2020 Midwest derecho -- Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
  4. News
    DERECHO 2020: 5 years ago, the brutal storm of August 10, 2020, caused $12 billion in damage -- The News
    thenews-ia.com
  5. News
    Iowa State professor: nobody expected the August 10 derecho -- KCRG
    kcrg.com
Tags
derechosevere-stormiowa-stateamespower-outagetree-damageshelter-in-placeweathersummer-2020
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion