derecho

Very intense and gusty winds that arise along a severe squall line, which can reach several hundred kilometers in length and moves rapidly across the terrain. Those winds, with devastating effects, are the consequence of the series of downbursts left in their wake by the storms that form that line structure, most often associated with a mesoscale convective system. The difference from a gust front is that, in the case of a derecho, the winds are sustained and increase behind the storm line. Derechos can also be associated with tornadoes and can give rise to heavy precipitation and flash floods. The term is used internationally in Spanish, as is the case with the El Niño phenomenon. It was first used by the German-born chemist Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs (1836-1923), in a paper published in 1888 in the journal American Meteorological Journal. He gave this name to the atmospheric phenomenon he had observed in the state of Iowa (USA) on July 31, 1877; violent like a tornado, but with different characteristics. Whereas a tornado generates rotating winds around itself, in the case of a derecho, the winds "go straight" (derecho, hence its name) only in the direction the squall line is traveling.