Webinar #78 - Thursday, September 9, 2021

"Derechos: Nature’s Wall of Wind"
Walker S. Ashley
Northern Illinois University
Geographic and Atmospheric Sciences
DeKalb. IL

Biography

Thunderstorm generated windstorms occur over broad spatial and temporal scales; however, the more widespread and longer-lived of these windstorms are known as “derechos”.  This talk will define derechos and their different types, reveal the interesting origin and history of the term derecho, provide a climatological overview of these extreme events, and illustrate the impacts these windstorms can have on communities by examining a few noteworthy events. We will also examine the unique visual and radar characteristics of thunderstorm systems that produce derechos. We will conclude with a discussion of how climate change may affect derechos and their parent thunderstorm systems in the 21st century.

View the Webinar by clicking here: https://youtu.be/4tpo4Zf07zk

View Walker's presentation slides 


Resources:

SPC About Derechos: https://www.spc.noaa.gov/misc/AbtDerechos/derechofacts.htm

Ted Fujita documentary: https://www.pbs.org/video/mr-tornado-upsuu9/

Walker's homepage: http://chubasco.niu.edu/

Walker's Twitter (post a lot of timelapses): https://twitter.com/WalkerSAshley