EXPLAINER: What is a derecho?

The Associated Press

The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center says tornadoes and thunderstorms that struck the Great Plains and upper Midwest on Dec. 15 were the result of a rare event called a derecho. A derecho is often described as an inland hurricane. The storm has no eye and its powerful winds come across in a line, potentially causing widespread damage. Ryan Maue is a private meteorologist in the Atlanta area and a former chief scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He says a derecho can develop from a series of separate storms, usually carrying hail and strong winds, that combine and build into a larger bowing complex. The term “bow” describes how the storm appears on radar.