When derechos strike, they can produce widespread damage to property, transmission lines and vegetation. The derecho that hit Wichita, Kansas during the late evening hours of 19 June 1990 became infamous for its degree of destruction. During the blast, winds reached 187 km/h (116 mph), as strong as an F2 tornado, toppling trees, ripping apart small buildings, and knocking down over 1,000 power poles. Around Kingman, the winds uprooted hundred year-old trees. Around Wichita and Sedgwick County the storm winds caused more than $50 million in damage.
On 15 July 1995, an extremely severe derecho swept through upstate New York. Around four in the morning, the storm matured over southern Ontario as an intense lightning storm. Then it quickly intensified and raced at speeds reaching 130 km/h (80 mph) over New York and southern New England. Winds gusting as high as 170 km/h (106 mph) devastated over 400,000 hectares (one million acres) of forest across the Adirondacks and felled tens of millions of individual trees. In some places, downed trees piled 3 to 6 metres (10-20 ft) high. Five campers are killed by the falling timbers.
Copyright 2003, Keith C. Heidorn, All Rights Reserved. (Illustrations, unless otherwise specified, ©Spectrum Educational Enterprises, All Rights Reserved.)
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