accuweather
Less than one year ago after the county was hit by a damaging storm known as a “derecho,” weather officials say we’re in the path for a similar severe line of storms that could cause widespread damage later this week.
Complexes of strong, drenching and locally severe thunderstorms will reach from parts of South Dakota and Nebraska to Illinois, Ohio, western Pennsylvania and the Virginias during the middle of this week, according to AccuWeather.
Part of this area, including Fayette County, could be hit by an intense thunderstorm complex, known as a derecho (pronounced der-ay-sho).
A derecho (Spanish for straight), is a widespread and long-lived, violent convectively induced straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms.
The pattern of thunderstorm complexes has the potential to bring localized incidents of flash flooding, damaging wind gusts, hail and frequent lightning strikes along a 1,000-mile swath spanning Tuesday, Wednesday and perhaps Thursday, AccuWeather reports.
Cities in the path of the storms include Sioux Falls, S.D., Des Moines, Iowa, Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati , Pittsburgh, Charleston, W.Va., and Washington Court House.
Fayette County was hit on June 29 by a derecho, causing several thousands of dollars in damage.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s office received multiple reports that a tornado touched down in the Jeffersonville area, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
The hurricane strength winds caused three semi-tractor trailers to overturn within seconds of each other, all in a span of eight miles.
The semi-tractor trailers were strewn like matchbox toys from the 71 mile marker to the 78 mile marker in Fayette County.
One of the tractor trailers blocked the southbound lane for several hours, blocking traffic completely while crews worked to upright the semi at the 72 mile marker.
Hundreds of motorists exited their vehicles and stood on the highway while the tractor trailers were up-righted. It gave reminisce of the television show “The Walking Dead” or the movie ”Deep Impact.”
A 100+ year old tree on Van Deman Street in Washington Court House was one of the dozens of trees uprooted. In Wayne Township, several electrical lines were down across roads and fields.
In an interview in June 2012, Andrew Snyder, a Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, said the heat is partially to blame for derechos.
“An upper level disturbance interacted with a cold front draped just south of the Great Lakes. Near this front, extreme instability due to the heat and humidity had built up in the atmosphere, and strong winds were located in the upper atmosphere. This helped an well-organized complex of thunderstorms with extreme winds to develop and race eastward across the area,” said Snyder.
The storm in June 2012 ended up being much more severe than expected.
Snyder says wind speeds in excess of 60-80 miles per hour were noted across the region. These winds began in advance of heavy rain across Fayette County.
“Widespread extreme wind events of this magnitude are a rare occurrence. They can produce damage similar to weak tornadoes, but over a much larger are.”