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What's A Derecho? The Strong Wind Storm Could Be Coming Our Way
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 26, 2012
Modified Jul 26, 2012
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 26, 2012
Modified Jul 26, 2012
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Have you looked outside yet? It's all doom and gloom out there, and it's only going to get worse. The U.S. Storm Prediction Center says New York City could see a derecho today... but what's a derecho?
You know how there's almost always a big gust of wind before a thunderstorm hits? A derecho is what happens when the gusts organize along a line of thunderstorms that form along a fast moving front... when those gusts get organized they can be pretty damaging. Unlike the swirling winds inside a thunderstorm, the winds of a derecho flow in one direction. The winds can, and often do, exceed hurricane strength (74mph). One that hit Washington D.C. last month knocked out power for millions.
So what are the chances we'll be seeing one today? One meteorologist says, “We decided the risk of that scenario happening was high enough that we would highlight it.” And either way, he says we have "a 45 percent chance of severe thunderstorms, high winds and hail"—and if you look outside, you'll see the thunder and lightning and rain have already begun. Capital New York's Azi Paybarah notes that Cuomo events scheduled for Rochester & Syracuse today are already "postponed as a result of severe weather conditions."
Fun derecho fact: According to this site, the word "was coined by Dr. Gustavus Hinrichs, a physics professor at the University of Iowa, in a paper published in the American Meteorological Journal in 1888. Hinrichs chose this terminology for thunderstorm-induced straight-line winds as an analog to the word tornado." In Spanish, derecho can be defined as "direct" or "straight ahead." And finally, here are some scary looking "super derechos."
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storm
weather
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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