2020 Iowa Derecho

  • Released Friday, April 11, 2025
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Imagery from MODIS from August 9, 2020 and August 11, 2020, Landsat 8 from August 11, 2020 and Sentinel-2B from August 7, 2020.

This visualization shows how data of different spatial and temporal resolutions were combined, to identify fields damaged by a derecho on August 10, 2020.

A derecho caused widespread damage to millions of acres of corn and soybean crops across central Iowa. Satellite imagery before and after the event shows the damage the derecho caused. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images one day before and one day after the derecho show the scale of the affected area, while Landsat 8 data the day after, and Sentinel-2B data from three days before can resolve sub-field level details. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is an index which show vegetation health. Comparing NDVI values before and after the derecho shows the large area where it damaged or destroyed vegetation.

AQUA MODIS imagery from August 9 and August 11, 2020.

MODIS captured imagery of Iowa before and after a derecho which occured on August 10, 2020.

Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2B images from before and after the August 10, 2020 derecho.

Landsat 8 true color and NDVI of Iowa the day after the August 10, 2020 derecho, Sentinel-2B truecolor and NDVI from three days earlier, and NDVI difference between the two dates.

NDVI change image between August 7 and August 11 using Sentinel-2B and Landsat 8 data.

NDVI change image between August 7 and August 11 using Sentinel-2B and Landsat 8 data.

An NDVI change image showing areas damaged by the August 10, 2020 derecho had decreased NDVI (shown as red in the image)

Credits

This page was originally published on Friday, April 11, 2025.
This page was last updated on Friday, April 11, 2025 at 12:02 PM EDT.

Datasets used

Note: While we identify the data sets used on this page, we do not store any further details, nor the data sets themselves on our site.