June 2009 Derecho

[Zorah Valtero]

Alright, so... Memphis got hit by a nasty derecho storm yesterday, which then headed down into Alabama to do some damage. Lots of damage around Memphis - 76 power grids failed, and 130k people are in the dark today. Basically, lights are out all over the city.

I was one of the lucky ones that managed to keep power during the storm, but there's a lotta shit going on out here. If you guys know anyone staying out here, you're probably best calling them up to check on them.

For those of you that don't know, a derecho is a straight-line wind storm accompanied with severe storms. Wind gusts are gale force, with this last storm being recorded as having 80 mph winds (Catagory 1 hurricane strength). They are fast moving at 60 mph, and cause incredible widespread damage. If you know anyone that's been in the path of this storm, you need to make sure they're okay.

[PM2K]

My part of the Ottawa Valley was hit by something similar in the summer of 1999... tornado force winds which struck along very narrow squall lines. You could stand on the line and look down in for miles, following the destruction.
No one was hurt, but the winds flattened everything within a 50 foot wide and miles long line... destroyed thousands of trees in local municipalities, blew apart barns, knocked over hydro lines, you name it... It was pretty wild. Some folks swear it was a tornado, but there was no funnel, and none of the swirling action to the damage that a tornado would have caused.
Pretty freaky.