16 Nebraskaland • August-September 2022
IN THE FIELD
By Martha D. Shulski
DERECHOS
While I was in northeastern Nebraska on the afternoon
of May 12, I glanced at the RADAR app on my phone and
promptly told a colleague I needed to hit the road. A severe
storm moving 80 mph was on the horizon coming my way.
When I realized I couldn't get around it quickly enough, I
headed to Niobrara State Park to wait it out in the shelter of
a Chevy pickup.
I lined the four-wheel drive with the tailgate facing
southwest (perpendicular to the storm) and held on for the
ride. It felt more like I was in an airplane than a truck as the
storm moved past. By the damage at the park — shingles and
siding ripped off cabins, downed trees and shelters ripped off
their foundation — I figured the winds were gusting above
80 mph. This fast-moving beast with straight-line winds was
the beginnings of a derecho.
Though a graduate degree could be obtained studying
derechos, in simple terms, they are widespread and long-
lived clusters of severe, straight-line wind thunderstorm
events that are in a hurry to get somewhere. Wind speeds
can approach hurricane and tornado strength and damage
can be devastating. Derechos are most common in summer
in the middle of North America and can occur any time the
atmosphere is grossly unstable and atmospheric wind profile
exhibits highly variable wind speeds. Even winter is not out
of the realm of possibility — remember December 2021? The
roof on my house and my scared 10-year-old does.
Four primary types of derechos are recognized, and the
RADAR often looks like an achery bow. Derechos can pulse
and feed off their own energy, so to speak, moving hundreds
of miles before collapsing. High wind is the predominant
impact, but hail, heavy rain and even tornados are known to
also occur. Given their speed, it is best to hunker down and
wait it out in the most stable shelter available. Sometimes,
that's a pickup in a state park.
Derecho damage can be severe, as seen by this downed tree at Niobrara State Park in Knox County. ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
