2020 年，一场 derecho（长程强风雷暴）袭击爱荷华州 Palo 的杜安阿诺德核电厂：每小时 130 英里阵风切断全部 6 条外部输电线，触发自动紧急停机；反应炉停堆后仍需数小时排热降温，事后发现 12 座冷却塔被吹垮。
核管会（NRC）风险分析初估该事件反应炉堆芯受损机率约为 1/1,000；在 2015–2024 年间，这是全美仅有的 2 起「重要前兆事件」之一（次高风险等级），且同期没有「重大前兆事件」（最高等级）。2021 年 3 月的最终分析略降堆芯受损机率，但指出 derecho 期间「站内全黑」（station blackout）风险特别高；在停机后约 10 小时，两部柴油备援发电机的冷却系统因碎屑堵塞出现压力，操作员绕过滤网维持运转。
电厂停用至今，但在 NextEra 与 Google 的购电与出资协议下，计划于 2029 年重启：Google 将购买主要电力输出 25 年，并宣称可向区域电网提供超过 600 MW 的「全天候」核能；Google 在距电厂约 12 英里的 Cedar Rapids 周边扩建资料中心。极端天气趋势同时升高：爱荷华州 2024 年创纪录 155 次龙卷风（高于 2021 年的 146 次），且 1980–2024 年平均每年接近 2 起、近 5 年平均每年 5.4 起的「十亿美元灾害」显示损失事件频率上升；业者拟增设备援（例如第 3 部柴油机）并以更高抗风标准重建冷却塔。
In 2020, a derecho struck Iowa’s Duane Arnold nuclear plant: 130‑mph winds severed all six off‑site power lines, triggering an automatic emergency shutdown; the reactor cooled and vented heat for hours, and operators later found that 12 cooling towers had collapsed.
The NRC’s initial risk analysis estimated about a 1-in-1,000 chance of core damage during the storm; it was one of only two “important precursors” to a severe US accident from 2015–2024 (second-highest risk category), with zero “significant precursors” (highest category). A final March 2021 analysis slightly lowered the core-damage probability but flagged an especially high station-blackout risk; about 10 hours into cooldown, debris clogged the cooling path for two diesel generators, and operators bypassed a strainer to keep a generator operable.
Duane Arnold has been dormant since 2020, but NextEra and Google are pursuing a 2029 restart: Google will help fund recommissioning and buy most output for 25 years, marketed as more than 600 MW of always-on nuclear power; Google’s nearby campus is about 12 miles away. Weather risk signals are worsening—155 Iowa tornadoes in 2024 (vs 146 in 2021) and NOAA’s $1B+ disaster history suggests frequency rising from just under 2 per year (1980–2024) to 5.4 per year over the latest five years—so planned upgrades emphasize added backup power (e.g., a third diesel) and higher wind-resistant cooling towers.