The National Weather Service is officially calling last week’s wind event through the Midwest a Derecho. It’s the first one ever recorded in the U. S., in the month of December. So, what is a Derecho? Derecho is a long-lived windstorm that packs winds of 58 miles per hours for a prolonged period of time and travels a length of at least 250 miles. Although a Derecho can produce destruction similar to that of a tornado, the damage typically occurs in one direction along a relatively sraight path. As a result, the term “straight-line winds” is sometimes used to describe damage caused by a Derecho.
On December 15th, widespread damage stretched from Kansas all the way to Wisconsin. The storm packed hurricane-force winds with gusts of up to 120 miles per hour in portions of Iowa. It also spawned 21 tornadoes and resulted in five deaths.
