Derechoes have been in the news in Washington as of late. No, that’s not some new breed of super bureaucrat, but it is something from a supercell sized thunderstorm that crossed several states during its lifetime. You may have seen this NOAA image already on a few news websites:
That’s a time lapse radar image capture as the storm progressed from near Chicago to Chesapeake Bay.
They’ve been known over a century, and around far longer than that. Wikipedia says that Derecho comes from the Spanish word for “straight”.The word was first used in the American Meteorological Journal in 1888 by Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs in a paper describing the phenomenon and based on a significant derecho event that crossed Iowa on 31 July 1877.
They were further refined with the advent of weather radar. Derechos are typically bow or spearhead-shaped on weather radar, and hence they are also called a bow echo or spearhead radar echo. Here’s a WSR-57 radar image from Cleveland, Ohio in 1969:
July 4, 1969 “The Ohio Fireworks Derecho” spanning MI, OH, PA, WV
They are fairly common meteorological events, occurring from May to August, peaking in frequency during the latter part of June into July. According to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, the Washington DC area gets a derecho about once every four years:
NOTEWORTHY DERECHOS IN RECENT DECADES
Many significant derechos (i.e., those that have caused severe damage and/or casualties), have occurred over North America during the last few decades. Most of these affected the United States and Canada. Listed below is a selection of some of the more noteworthy events in recent years; the list is not all-inclusive. Information provided in the links includes a map of the area affected, and a description of the storm’s impact.
Holiday weekend events
The human impact of the following events was enhanced by their occurrence on summer holiday weekends, causing many to be caught out-of-doors during the sudden onset of high winds…
July 4, 1969…………….”The Ohio Fireworks Derecho”….MI, OH, PA, WV
July 4, 1977…………….”The Independence Day Derecho of 1977″….ND, MN, WI, MI, OH
July 4-5, 1980…………”The ‘More Trees Down’ Derecho”….NE, IA, MO, IL, WI, IN, MI, OH, PA, WV, VA, MD
Sept. 7, 1998………….”The Syracuse Derecho of Labor Day 1998″….NY, PA, VT, MA, NH
Sept. 7, 1998 …………”The New York City Derecho of Labor Day 1998″….MI, OH, WV, PA, NJ, NY, CT
July 4-5, 1999…………”The Boundary Waters-Canadian Derecho”….ND, MN, ON, QB, NH, VT, ME
The derechos of mid-July 1995
The mid-July 1995 derechos were noteworthy for both their intensity and range…
Series Overview……….Montana to New England
July 12-13, 1995……..”The Right Turn Derecho”….MT, ND, MN, WI, MI, ON, OH, PA, WV
July 14-15, 1995……..”The Ontario-Adirondacks Derecho”….MI, ON, NY, VT, NH, MA, CT, RI
Serial derechos
Two well-documented, classic events over the eastern United States…
April 9, 1991……………”The West Virginia Derecho of 1991″….AR,TN, MS, AL, KY, IN, OH, WV, VA, MD, PA
March 12-13, 1993….”The Storm of the Century Derecho”….FL, Cuba
“Southward bursts”
“Southward burst” is a term coined by Porter et al. in a 1955 paper (see reference here) to describe a progressive-type squall line that surges rapidly southward rather than east…
May 4-5, 1989…………”The Texas Derecho of 1989″….TX, OK, LA
May 27-28, 2001……..”The People Chaser Derecho”….KS, OK, TX
Other noteworthy events
June 7, 1982…………..”The Kansas City Derecho of 1982″….KS, MO, IL
July 19, 1983…………..”The I-94 Derecho”….ND, MN, IA, WI, MI, IL, IN
May 17, 1986………….”The Texas Boaters’ Derecho”…..TX
July 28-29, 1986……..”The Supercell Transition Derecho”….IA, MO, IL
July 7-8, 1991………….”The Southern Great Lakes Derecho of 1991″….SD, IA, MN, WI, MI, IN, OH, ON, NY, PA
May 30-31, 1998……..”The Southern Great Lakes Derecho of 1998″….MN, IA, WI, MI, ON, NY
June 29, 1998………….”The Corn Belt Derecho of 1998″….NE, IA, IL, IN, KY
July 22, 2003……………”The Mid-South Derecho of 2003″….AR, TN, MS, AL, GA, SC
May 8, 2009…………….”The ‘Super Derecho’ of May 2009″….KS, MO, AR, IL, IN, KY, TN, VA, WV, NC
Here, thanks to modern radar technology and people who are interested enough to track storms on radar from start to finish, we have this life cycle of the derecho:
Timelapse of closest NEXRAD base reflectivity of the 29 June 2012 derecho. The timelapse moves from Davenport, Iowa to Richmond, Virginia over 14 hours.
Here’s a cross section, showing how the mesoscale thunderstorm dynamics make that bow echo. Image courtesy of the NOAA Storm Prediction Center page about derechoes:
What is troubling about this being linked to “global warming” is the Washinton Post Capital Weather Gang’s story by Jason Samenow, which ends with this gem:
As the intensity of the heat wave, without reservation, was a key factor in the destructiveness of this derecho event – it raises the question about the possible role of manmade climate warming (from elevated greenhouse concentrations). It’s a complicated, controversial question, but one that scientists will surely grapple with in case studies of this rare, extraordinary event.
Yet Samenow cites the same sources from the Storm Prediction Center page that I do, showing the exact same image above (after editing out the number 3). Yet somehow, he managed to conveniently ignore the historical context and the climatological frequency of derechoes on that page.
He’s gets the coveted WUWT Double BS award for his sloppy journalism.
Joe D’Aleo has more on the derecho event here at ICECAP.
UPDATE: I made an error. I got two different posts mixed up related to the heatwave, conflating the quote discussing the heat wave by Doug Kammerer (with thunderstorm radar loop in background video by Karins on the CP post) . I’ve removed the citation (and video) related to NBC Bill Karins quoted on Climate Progress. My sincere apologies for the error. My only defense is that I don’t listen to audio much anymore due to my hearing issues. Thankfully, I’ve got a big group of people that will let me know immediately that I’ve made an error, and thus I’ve heeded their advice and fixed the error within minutes of this posting. Thank you. – Anthony
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Rob Crawford says:
July 2, 2012 at 10:23 am
Sorry — can’t read the words “Ring of Fire” without hearing Johnny Cash.
================================================================
I think of Frodo and the Tree Ring of Fire!
These are spears of cold air driving into the midst of summer. Now, according to the tipping point theory of AGW, the grand Horse Latitudes Highs are expanding and taking over the mid latitudes. That would not square with more frequent or stronger Derechos.
Mr Lynn,
Thank you for posting that “weather forecast” from WRVA. It was very refreshing after what we’ve been through here. Humor is good for the soul.
Thanks again,
Jason Miller
Okay, I’m going with it was minted for ‘consumer’ purposes and not serious meteorologists … I was looking for a ‘white paper’ on the subject Ric; the consumer stuff oozes out of the ‘tube’ or on most common websites (both of which I’ve had my fill) … let’s say we just stick with the proper terms and identify the REAL conditions? (Newspapers gotta sell papers and TV ppl have to ‘jazz up’ the wx …)
No fire involved; advection and serious J/kg (Joules per kilogram) CAPE values (making for a warm, most ‘powder keg’ air mass in the boundary layer), moist air (or maybe cold air) in mid levels as opposed to simply warm dry air (IOW no ‘cap’ (capping inversion or Cinh in mid levels)), aided by the jet stream in the proper position (Bernoulli effect or principle; yes, it works in the atmosphere too) … do you see where I’m going with this versus ‘nursery rhymes for babies’ or synthesizing new terms that at the least overlap with other common usage (The ‘Ring of Fire’ in the Pacific re: active volcanism )?
Maybe my exposure to the old-time Mets like WW2-era trained Harold Taft (here in the DFW market years back) has set my standard HIGH for TV mets; maybe I should lower mine now to coincide with present market conditions? Socrates, make that two to go on the Hemlock …
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Seems this ‘Derecho’ phenonemon is biased towards those puny Eastern states. Texas should get Derocho credit if the supercell crosses 2-4 counties to make things just about equal.
Meanwhile back at the farm, Climate Central makes it’s debut (first time I’ve ever heard of them_ on NPR Dianne Rehm’s Show . . .
Dr. Smote along with Dr. Asbury Sallenger Oceanographer, U.S. Geological Survey and Philip Mote Professor, Oregon State University were featured . . . with one other.
http://thedianerehmshow.org/
http://thedianerehmshow.org/audio-player?nid=16272
Any comments or criticisms out there?
The future is certain; only the past is subject to change!
(Polish snark about Soviet history.)
Laurie;
OMG–8″ thermal rise and 2-3′ of increase from melting ice by the end of the century! The sky is falling and the sea is rising! We’ll be squashed!
>;-p
_Jim says:
July 2, 2012 at 7:09 pm
I’d love to hear your defense of the term “bombogenesis,” which most definitely is a “Real Meteorological Term.”
And your source on that is: ______________________ (fill in the blank; please feel free to cite grandmother, grandfather, aunts and uncles, living or deceased, or on-air personalities whether active now or not, as well as any ‘white papers’ whether published and reviewed in any journals or simply ‘put out there’ for any purpose including education, debate or entertainment.)
The AMS Glossary of Meteorology returns: “Unable to find term ‘Bombogenesis’ ”
Under “bomb” however we have: “An extratropical surface cyclone with a central pressure that falls on the average at least 1 mb/h for 24 hours [straight].” after F. Sanders, and J. R. Gyakum, 1980, Synoptic–dynamic climatology of the “bomb”, Monthly Weather Review, 108, 1589–1606.
. . . . http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?id=bomb1
It seems ‘popular press’ may have coined that term after cyclogenesis: “Any development or strengthening of cyclonic circulation in the atmosphere; the opposite of cyclolysis [weakening or the opposite of cyclogenesis].”
. . . . http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?id=cyclogenesis1
The conclusion can be made from the foregoing that someone made the connection between cyclogenesis and the formation of a ‘bomb’ of a cyclone forming hence the composite term ‘bombogenesis’ indicating the ongoing fall in (central) pressure at or near the rate of 1 mb/hr and expected to extend over a time period of 24 hr minimum (in order to meet the unofficial criteria for ‘bombogenesis’) …
The term looks to have been coined for those cyclones that have moved offshore in the NE (states), encountered the warm Gulf waters flowing north in the Atlantic, and enhancing their strength as storms with lowered (central) pressure along with all else that goes with it … creating what is described as a Nor’easter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nor'easter
.
Available for review, Ric:
Synoptic-Dynamic Climatology of the “Bomb”
Frederick Sanders and John R. Gyakum
Department of Meteorology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139
http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/1520-0493(1980)108%3C1589%3ASDCOT%3E2.0.CO%3B2
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_Jim says:
July 4, 2012 at 10:28 am
Looks like it’s still more regional than I thought.
grandmother, grandfather, aunts and uncles, living or deceased, – none are meteorologists. My father was one in WWII in California, but that predates the term.
On air personalities – I thought you disclaimed them all. (In New England the TV Mets have personalities, but they also don’t survive long if they can’t handle our weather!)
Todd Gross used to be on Boston TV, one of the best, but a bit irascible. I bought my Davis VP weather station from him.
http://www.toddgross.com/todd_gross_new_england_we/2006/12/bombogenesis_an.html
He refers to a Jeff Haby page, Jeff knows his stuff – http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/188/ OTOH
The Tauton MA and Gray ME NWS mets use it in their discussions, one, from State College PA is preserved at http://weblogs.marylandweather.com/winter_weather/:
“SUFFICE IT TO SAY THAT IT SETS OFF ALL THE BELLS AND
WHISTLES. THE 12Z ECMWF ALONG WITH THE NEWEST 00Z GFS AND CANADIAN (COMPUTER MODEL) RUNS NOW PORTRAY A MAJOR EAST COAST STORM COMING OUT OF THE DEEP
SOUTH AND RIGHT INTO THE SWEET SPOT FOR CENTER-JUMPING BOMBOGENESIS
AND DEEP SNOW FOR CENTRAL PA WITH THE MAIN SFC LOW PASSING JUST
TO OUR SE. MANY MEMBERS OF THE 18Z GEFS PUT OVER AN INCH OF
LIQUID EQIV PRECIP OVER CENTRAL PA SAT-SUN.
I wouldn’t consider an NWS discussion (even one tamed down like this one) as “I’m going with it was minted for ‘consumer’ purposes and not serious meteorologists”. Well, it probably was, but some of the storm lovers in the NWS like the term too.
> The AMS Glossary of Meteorology returns: “Unable to find term ‘Bombogenesis’ ”
Perhaps they should add it. If there’s a bomb, it must have formed somehow.
Thank you , I know what a nor’easter is – I wrote the post here for the 50th anniversary of the Great Atlantic Storm of 1962, and have a web page on the Blizzard of ’78 (the second one, the first clobbered MI, IN, and OH). They’re one of the reasons I live in New England.
An ordinary nor’easter doesn’t bomb out. Bombogenesis generally happens in the transition area beyond the Gulf stream, typically between NJ and the Gulf of Maine. I suspect the influx of cold Atlantic or Canadian air is important. It would be really neat if hurricane hunter planes could investigate, but those could be some rather risky missions due to severe icing.
Ric Werme says July 4, 2012 at 11:10 pm
…
Ric, I saw a bit of dodge, some weave, a bit of straw-man arg, a word-put-in-my-mouth in that response all the while my goal was one of appeasement regarding your supplication: I’d love to hear your defense of the term “bombogenesis,” (which I think I did admirably well, thank you.)
I saw no comment or review of yours on the Monthly Weather Review ‘paper’ (F. Sanders, and J. R. Gyakum, 1980, Synoptic–dynamic climatology of the “bomb” ) I cited and from which the term probably, with little doubt originated; can I score my previous post as ‘+1’ (which was then followed by, well, some dodging, some weaving, etc as a rebuttal??????)
(To make it perfectly clear, since it unclear that you looked at the paper, the paper is available at the link a previous post of mine at _no cost_ for a downloadable document in pdf form.)
BTW, I went ‘elementary’ regarding a def. of a Nor’easter for the sake of a) being complete and b) those that may not be as knowledgeable of said subject of Nor’easters as you (or I even) …
.
_Jim says:
July 5, 2012 at 4:08 pm
Ric Werme says July 4, 2012 at 11:10 pm
…
I didn’t realize we were keeping score, enjoy your points.
I didn’t. As you can tell, I didn’t get my reply out until 0200, and my manager sort of expects me into work around 1000.
I was working on a update to my sadly neglected RGGI page, and will work on that more tonight. Also, I want to spend more time reviewing http://nhcollaborative.org/benchmarkreport/ and see if I can come up with a some worthwhile comment on the NH Public Radio talk show tomorrow about it. 0900-1000, I may be late to work….
When my time is free, I might take you up on your _no cost_ offer.
I like the research of previous derecho events. How many of them left 1.2 million homes / 3 million people without power?