Hey there, on the morning of November 6th, 2015, folks woke up to a racket that sounded like a freight train tearing down their street. Trees were falling, branches were being tossed around, and in a blink, it was over. Turns out, it was a Derecho, a long-lived wind storm that acts like a tornado, causing damage in a straight line. Bad Axe was hit pretty hard, with trees down, power outages, and even schools being dismissed early.
You might be wondering, what’s a Derecho? It’s a weather phenomenon that causes microbursts. It’s pronounced “deh-REY-cho” and it’s associated with rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms. The damage it causes is usually in one direction and along a relatively straight path, hence the term “straight-line wind damage”. If the wind damage extends for more than 240 miles, includes wind gusts of at least 58 mph along most of its length, and several, well-separated 75 mph or greater gusts, it’s classified as a Derecho.
The winds from a Derecho aren’t constant and can vary along its path. They can be as low as 57 mph or as high as 100 mph. These winds are produced by downbursts which often occur in irregularly-arranged clusters, along with embedded microbursts and burst swaths. Derechos are essentially made up of continuous downburst clusters for at least 240 miles. (Info about Derechos was taken from NOAA.)
In a nutshell, that morning was anything but ordinary with the Derecho causing a ruckus. It’s a reminder of the immense power of nature and how it can leave a trail of destruction in its wake. Stay safe out there, folks. #Derecho #Nature’sFury
Did a Derecho Hit the Upper Thumb? Check out the original post [here](https://thumbwind.com/2015/11/07/derecho-michigan-upper-thumb/).
