Did a derecho happen in Iowa this week? See the National Weather Service explanation.

Storms across Iowa on Tuesday and Wednesday brought high winds, rain, hail and temporary power outages for thousands of MidAmerican Energy customers.

The eerily dark skies and morning timing had someone Iowans having flashbacks to derechos. For a storm to be considered a derecho, it must meet certain criteria, otherwise, it's a thunderstorm. The storms had all of the characteristics of a derecho, but were they?

Was there a derecho in Iowa on Wednesday?

No, Iowa did not experience a derecho on Wednesday.

While Omaha saw high winds and damage from the storm, it did not span far enough to be considered a derecho, said Brad Small, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Des Moines.

"The very high winds of 90-plus miles per hour and such that occurred near Omaha were fairly localized," he said. "You can have really high straight-line winds at any particular location, but if it doesn't have the size and duration requirement, it won't be classified as a derecho."

NWS got reporters of funnel clouds, but they were determined to be scud clouds.

Did Iowa experience a derecho Tuesday?

No, Tuesday's storm was not considered a derecho based on preliminary assessments by the National Weather Service. It did not have characteristic wind gusts.

What is a derecho?

Derechos are severe thunderstorms that cause damage. They are a “widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms,” according to the National Weather Service .

To be considered a derecho, a storm must include wind damage extending more than 240 miles and have wind speeds of 58 mph throughout the storm's duration.

Iowans likely remember a derecho that ripped through the Midwest on Aug. 10, 2020 , causing $11 billion in damage — the most expensive thunderstorm in history. A large area from central Iowa to north central Illinois saw wind gusts of 70-80 mph, with gusts of more than 100 mph in a few areas.

When was Iowa's last derecho?

While Tuesday's storm was not a derecho, Iowa did experience one in July.

Iowa last saw a derecho on July 15, and that storm produced an EF1 tornado that hit the northwest side of the metro.

Reporting contributed by Paris Barraza.

Kyle Werner is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@dmreg.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Did a derecho happen in Iowa this week? See the National Weather Service explanation.