So What is a Derecho Storm Anyway?

This past week we had some pretty intense storms. They weren't hurricanes, they weren't nor'easters, a lot of us heard the term "Derecho" for the first time.

So what is a Derecho? According to NOAA, a derecho is a "widespread, long-lived windstorm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms."

As you can see from the map above, unlike hurricanes and nor'easters, we generally only experience a derecho every couple of years or so. But that's also why it's news when it happens. Some experts even suggest that climate change could be causing more derecho storms than we've had historically.

The important part of course - even though we escaped relatively unharmed this past week, derechos can still be dangerous storm, even spawning tornadoes, hail, and frequent lightning. As always, stay with 92.7 WOBM for the latest forecast information!