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"This story was updated most recently at 10:30 p.m. ET on June 30. \nMultiple waves of severe thunderstorms barreled across the Midwest tonight, taking aim at Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as South Bend, Indiana and parts of Michigan. These storms have caused major flash flooding in parts of Iowa, including in Davenport, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, after up to an estimated 8 inches of rain fell there in just a few hours.\nOne person died from the storms, near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after getting trapped inside a collapsed building, police said, The Weather Channel reported. Several staff members of a local Cedar Rapids baseball team were also injured when they tried to pull a tarp onto the infield, and a severe thunderstorm blew it over them, according to local television station KCRG.\nSee also: Freak Thunderstorm Spawns Twin Tornadoes as Severe Outbreak Hits U.S.\nThe storm complex is technically known as a mesoscale convective system, basically a large group of organized thunderstorms. These storms are feeding off a warm, moist air mass, and strong winds in the low and mid-levels of the atmosphere are being pulled down to the surface, making them especially dangerous.\nChicago and Milwaukee were struck by severe thunderstorms at rush hour, but then a second area of storms formed to the southwest, marching toward Chicago again. The second round of storms are only exacerbating the power outage and flooding situation.\n\nWatch out Chicago, second line of storm inbound. May pack stronger punch than first for some. #ilwx #inwx pic.twitter.com/F1jadX0y5d\n\u2014 Andrew Freedman (@afreedma) July 1, 2014\n\nSevere thunderstorm watches were issued for Chicago and Peoria, Iowa, until 3 a.m. CT, and for Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo in Michigan until 2 a.m. ET. Severe weather watches, including a tornado watch in Missouri, stretched all the way to Texas as of 10:30 p.m. ET.\n\nIntense, dangerous MCS (mesoscale convective system) and #derecho smashing across the Midwest   #weather pic.twitter.com/kdQLHVU1vy\n\u2014 Stu Ostro (@StuOstro) June 30, 2014\n\nEarlier in the afternoon, the National Weather Service issued a rare \"Particularly Dangerous Situation \"severe thunderstorm watch\" for areas from Chicago to South Bend, Indiana, as the storms plow eastbound. Numerous reports of wind gusts of 80 miles per hour or greater have come from the hardest-hit areas. \n\nAs storms approach the area, stay tuned to wx alerts. Here are some tips to help you stay safe! #ilwx #inwx pic.twitter.com/ad4Xg8Xq2G\n\u2014 NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) June 30, 2014\n\nDue to the large geographic extent of the wind damage, which has caused tens of thousands of Midwesterners to lose power, this will likely be considered a derecho event. Such events are capable of causing widespread power outages and tree damage. \nThis event has severely impacted one of the busiest airports in the world at Chicago's O'Hare International, where it resulted in a ripple effect of airport delays nationwide.\n\nRT @WXSchnack Storm damage in Traer Monday afternoon.Taken by Jami Flees Cluts pic.twitter.com/5KKLOV6jlI\n\u2014 NWS Des Moines (@NWSDesMoines) July 1, 2014\n\n\nPicture: Vivid #lightning: MT @Sam_Henson44: Lightning over Lake Michigan #nofilter #chicago http://t.co/tzxYXeAuFj pic.twitter.com/pSdh5wcEzV\n\u2014 Johnny Kelly (@stormchaser4850) July 1, 2014\n\n\nShelf or roll cloud. Thanks!  RT @haasmc: @mmichaelswntv first pic is as the storm approached North Liberty, IA.  pic.twitter.com/dhCVTJzLur\n\u2014 Mace Michaels (@mmichaelswntv) June 30, 2014\n\n\n@Ginger_Zee downtown Dubuque, Iowa right now. I'm from the ABC affiliate here. #kcrgwx pic.twitter.com/OJ4mOXDd5B\n\u2014 Katie Wiedemann (@KatieDBQ) June 30, 2014\n\n\nFlooding at midvale. Camera just went down in the storm, this is right before. pic.twitter.com/OC0JElEtyr\n\u2014 Michelle Carolla (@MichelleCarolla) June 30, 2014\n\n\n5:41pm: This is unbelievable! Midvale @ University Madison, WI #wiwx pic.twitter.com/HRahlstZ3I\n\u2014 Kyle Nelson (@WxKyleNelson) June 30, 2014\n\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.\n      window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement('script');js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);};\n_msla(\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\",\"twitter_jssdk\");"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/06/30/derecho-storms-chicago-milwaukee/>