Deadline to Disaster

On Aug. 10, 2020, hurricane-force winds blast through Iowa battering the city of Cedar Rapids; this rare Derecho packing powerful straight line winds takes the city by surprise and leaves behind a trail of destruction.

On Aug. 17, 2020, a series of lightning strikes ignite multiple fires around Napa Valley; fanned by intense winds, the fires rapidly intensify into the LNU Fire Complex.

On Aug. 4, 2020, Hurricane Isaias slams into the North Carolina coast before tracking northward, spawning 37 tornadoes in eight states and causing catastrophic flooding in Pennsylvania.

On March 3, 2020, a super cell makes it way across Kentucky and sets its sights on Tennessee; that night, 10 tornados ranging from EF0 to EF4 touched down in Tennessee, leaving approximately $1.6 billion in damage and taking 25 lives.

Just after shuttering many businesses in response to the pandemic, Jonesboro, Ark., takes another hit from a natural disaster; an EF3 tornado touches down on the south side of the city and plows across the busiest parts of Jonesboro.

A devastating tornado causes havoc in Illinois. In Rochelle, many locals become trapped - in their homes and on the highway. Local restaurant customers seek shelter in a cellar. As the tornado continues to tear through Illinois towards the small town of Fairdale, the onslaught creates challenges to the emergency personnel as they search for survivors.

Category 4 Hurricane Laura batters Cameron, La.; its wicked winds and torrential rains reach inland to Lake Charles, La.; residents take cover as their windows break, the power goes out and storm surge takes over.

Hurricane Sally makes landfall along Alabama's Gulf Coast, the first tropical cyclone to do so since 2004; intensifying to a Category 2 storm and turning east just prior to landfall, Sally catches many residents along the panhandle by surprise.