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Derecho Blasts through Midwest

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  • Derecho Blasts through Midwest

    A derecho is creating widespread wind damage across parts of the Midwest as winds associated with this thunderstorm complex are gusting to between 60 and 85 mph.

    The first reports starting coming in from central Iowa around 3am CT. Over eight hours later the derecho traveled over 500 miles, producing over 300 reports of high wind or wind damage.

    http://www.weather.com/outlook/weath...age_2011-07-11

    What Is a Derecho?

    Derechoes are large clusters of thunderstorms that produce widespread wind damage, usually as a result of one or more curved lines of thunderstorms known as bow echoes. The word in the Spanish language means "straight" and these windstorms leave wide, long swaths of straight-line wind damage. These winds can be as strong as 50 to 100 mph (or higher)!

    According to our Severe Weather Expert Dr. Greg Forbes, (Find him on Facebook), an ordinary thunderstorm produces a swath of damaging winds usually only a mile or two wide and a few miles long, but derechoes can produce damage swaths tens of miles wide and several hundred miles long.

    Unlike tornadoes, which are more common in the spring, derechoes are the most active during the late spring and summer. The graph to the right shows this with a ramp up in the annual number of derechos per month in May (over 4 per year), June (3-4 per year) and July (over 4 per year).

    Much like tornadoes, derechoes most often occur in portions of the central and eastern United States.

    According to Dr. Forbes, because of the widespread nature of the winds in a derecho, the impact is somewhat like that of a landfalling hurricane, and affects a much greater area than most tornadoes. The extensive swath of downed trees and power lines causes a major cleanup and restoration effort that takes days to weeks and often requires relief workers to come in from other states to aid in these efforts.

    more
    http://www.weather.com/outlook/weath...cho_2011-04-19

  • #2
    Re: Derecho Blasts through Midwest

    We got hit this morning from about 8:00 am to 8:30 am. People without power, 4 lights were out on my way home. A roof was torn of an apartment complex, lots of trees down. It came on very quickly. I like a good thunderstorm but I don't like all that wind.

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