HOUSTON TEXAS 🇺🇸 THUNDERSTORM⚡⚡DERECHO 🌪️ HURRICANE HARVEY 2024 🌊
16At least 7 people died.
Up to 100 mph of strong winds had hit through the area, which resulted in power outages.
Derechos
The word "derecho" is of Spanish origin, and means straight ahead. The strict translation of this word leads to the general public's understanding of a derecho: any straight-line wind associated with a thunderstorm. While correct to a certain extent, a more technical definition of derecho is a widespread convectively produced wind event resulting from the outflow boundary of a mesoscale convective system (MCS, see below). Thus, derecho producing mesoscale convective systems are referred to as DMCSs. The winds associated with derechos blow straight ahead, or are straight-line. The term straight-line is meant to be a contrast to the rotating winds associated with tornadoes. Johns and Hirt (1987) distinguished between two types of derechos, progressive and serial, differing in the mechanism of formation.