The October 2010 North American storm complex is the name given to a historic extratropical cyclone that impacted North America. The massive storm complex caused a wide range of weather events including a major serial

derecho A ''derecho'' (, from es, derecho, link=no , 'straight') is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is associated with a fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms known as a mesoscale convective system. Derechos can cause hurri ...

stretching from the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

to the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

, a widespread tornado outbreak across the Southeast United States and Midwest and a

blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling ...

across portions of the

Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie Provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

and the Dakotas. The cyclone's lowest minimum pressure of made it the second most intense non-tropical system recorded in the continental United States (CONUS). The lowest confirmed pressure for a non-tropical system in the continental United States was set by a January 1913 Atlantic coast storm.

Meteorological synopsis

Significant snowfall was reported on the backside of the storm. The heaviest snow fell in parts of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

where 9 inches (22.5 cm) of snow was reported in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Heavy snow and blizzard conditions also occurred in

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

, southwestern

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

and southeastern

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

. The non-tropical cyclonic storm generated wind speeds of up to 70 mph, caused by a severe low pressure zone over

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

on October 24th.

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

, Cleveland, Findlay, Marion, Lorain, Mansfield, Toledo, Wooster and Youngstown,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

all witnessed heavy winds on the 24th. Severe weather battered

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, and

on the 25th and 26th of October, producing strong winds, rain, hail, and widespread tornadoes. It was the region's second strongest storm on record. The weather station in Bigfork,

recorded a state record atmospheric pressure of 955.2 millibars (28.21 inches of pressure), typical of a Category 3 hurricane. The National Weather Service reported that a tornado with a maximum speed of 115 mph touched down about four miles east of Peotone in Will County, south of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, that morning and traveled 2.9 miles, causing downed power lines and partially destroying a home. Another tornado was reported to have landed in Racine,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Heavy damage was reported in the Chicago area, particularly in Kane, Will, Kankakee, and Iroquois Counties in

and in Porter County in

. The winds flipped single engine planes on their sides at

DuPage Airport DuPage Airport is a general aviation airport located west of downtown Chicago in West Chicago, DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It is owned and operated by the DuPage Airport Authority, which is an independent government body establishe ...

West Chicago West Chicago is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,086 at the 2010 census. It was formerly named Junction and later Turner, after its founder, John B. Turner, president of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroa ...

, and flights were delayed by 30 minutes at O'Hare and Midway airports. More than 300 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport, and more than 60,000 ComEd customers were without power. Several other less powerful tornadoes also occurred in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

. Heavy snow also fell in south western

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. There were no fatalities with this system. A

GOES Goes () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands on Zuid-Beveland, in the province of Zeeland. The city of Goes has approximately 27,000 residents. History Goes was founded in the 10th century on the edge of a creek: de Kort ...

satellite image on October 26 showed what could be considered the eye of the storm over the

border, with outlying clouds reaching as far as

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, southern Nunavut, Newfoundland, eastern

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

and

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

. The storm developed so quickly, that it was declared to be a weather ' bomb', which is an extremely fast developing storm that drops at least one millibar of pressure per hour for 24 hours—a phenomenon more commonly seen over water than land. On the morning of October 26, a serial derecho caused widespread damage in

and

Tuesday. Louisville, Ky;

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Cridersville, and Toledo, Ohio,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

Indianapolis were hit at 9 am CDT, and

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

was hit during the midday and early afternoon hours. Other cities impacted by the storms included

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, Pa.,

Buffalo, N.Y. Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, and Charleston, W.Va. At one point in the morning a line of tornado warnings stretched from central Michigan down to northern Mississippi. Tornado damage to homes was also reported in and around

Peotone Peotone () is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,142 at the 2010 census, an increase from 3,385 in 2000. The city is about south of Chicago. The village is home to the Peotone High School Blue Devils. History ...

, Ill., and Kokomo, Ind., while another tornado reportedly uprooted and downed trees onto homes near Racine, Wis. On October 28, the storm system left the East Coast. During the next few days, the system moved eastward across the Atlantic, before stalling over the western

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

on November 1. On November 5, the system dissipated over the western Mediterranean region.

Confirmed tornadoes

October 23 event

October 24 event

October 25 event

October 26 event

October 27 event

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2010-10-23 North American Storm Complex North American Storm Complex Blizzards in the United States 10-23 Storm Complex Articles containing video clips Extratropical cyclones Storm Complex Storm Complex Natural disasters in Minnesota Natural disasters in North Carolina Natural disasters in North Dakota Natural disasters in Manitoba Natural disasters in Saskatchewan 2010 disasters in Canada