PIERRE, S.D. (DRG News) – A rare wind storm with power similar to an inland hurricane swept across parts of the Midwest Monday, blowing over trees, flipping vehicles, damaging crops, causing widespread property damage and leaving tens of thousands of homes without power.

Weatherology meteorologist Paul Trambley says the storm is what’s called a derecho.

Trambley says the difference between a derecho and a tornado is how long the straight line wind lasts.

A scientist at the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center says the storm that hit parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois had the wind speed of a major hurricane. The storm has caused at least one death.