These damaging wind events are fairly rare, but they can be deadly.
A derecho is a large damage-producing wind event that can travel for hundreds of miles.
A derecho is less common and may be entirely new to even the most storm-seasoned Southerner.
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What Is a Derecho?
Compare that to a tornado, which produces twisting or turning winds.
(Tornado comes from the Spanish word “tornar,” which means “to turn.")
2020 derecho damage at Heartland Co-Op in Luther, Iowa.Credit:Getty Images
There are specific characteristics of a derecho that must be met for the formal classification.
Gusts along the storm front can be on par with strong tornadoes.
Tornadoes are often short-lived events that go only a few miles.
Rarely, long-track tornadoes can go hundreds of miles.
A derecho, on the other hand, travels 400 miles or more.
But a derecho is usually identified by another clear radar signal: a bow echo.
Do Derechos Happen in the South?
A secondary region “exists in Kansas and Oklahoma.”
However, derechos can happen in the Southern U.S.
Overall, however, these storms are not very common and typically occur from May to August.
They will give warnings, and the best thing you’re free to do is stay weather aware.
Make plans for a safe place to go.
Falling trees can be deadly in cars, campers, tents, and other structures.
NOAA/National Weather Service, National Centers for Environmental Prediction Storm Prediction Center.About derechos.
Guastini CT, Bosart LF.Analysis of a progressive derecho climatology and associated formation environments.Mon Weather Rev.
2016;144(4):1363-1382. doi:10.1175/MWR-D-15-0256.1
