Five years ago today (February 16, 2001) quite a weather event took place across Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama. A Derecho is a long-lived and widespread convective wind storm, typically in the form of a large, bow-shaped squall line. Derechos often last for several hours, and can produce wind damage over thousands of square miles. They can travel at speeds over 50 mph, and may contain wind gusts of 70-100 mph.
The event of February 16, 2001, actually began rather innocuously, in parts of Texas and Louisiana in the early morning hours, where a band of showers and thunderstorms developed and started to move east. Through the rest of the morning and early afternoon hours, the storms became more intense and formed into a more organized line as they marched across Mississippi. Damage from wind gusts was reported in several Mississippi counties as the line moved through. Damage was widespread in the Starkville-Columbus area, including the campus of Mississippi State University. A total of eleven people were killed by this system in Arkansas and Mississippi. Many people had no power for weeks.
The line of storms reached the western Alabama border around 2 pm. Around the same time, a section of the squall line began to bulge out, or bow, in Pickens County. Through the next 3 hours, the Derecho would move across the entire width of the state, producing wind gusts to 100 mph, and widespread damage similar to an F0 or F1 tornado. The ABC 33/40 Weathernet site atop the press box at Legion Field measured a gust right at 100 mph. Officially recorded wind gusts include 60 mph at the Tuscaloosa and Anniston/Oxford Airports, and 68 mph at the Birmingham Airport and Gadsden/Etowah County EOC.
(Thanks to the B'ham NWS office for part of the material used in this post)
The event of February 16, 2001, actually began rather innocuously, in parts of Texas and Louisiana in the early morning hours, where a band of showers and thunderstorms developed and started to move east. Through the rest of the morning and early afternoon hours, the storms became more intense and formed into a more organized line as they marched across Mississippi. Damage from wind gusts was reported in several Mississippi counties as the line moved through. Damage was widespread in the Starkville-Columbus area, including the campus of Mississippi State University. A total of eleven people were killed by this system in Arkansas and Mississippi. Many people had no power for weeks.
The line of storms reached the western Alabama border around 2 pm. Around the same time, a section of the squall line began to bulge out, or bow, in Pickens County. Through the next 3 hours, the Derecho would move across the entire width of the state, producing wind gusts to 100 mph, and widespread damage similar to an F0 or F1 tornado. The ABC 33/40 Weathernet site atop the press box at Legion Field measured a gust right at 100 mph. Officially recorded wind gusts include 60 mph at the Tuscaloosa and Anniston/Oxford Airports, and 68 mph at the Birmingham Airport and Gadsden/Etowah County EOC.
(Thanks to the B'ham NWS office for part of the material used in this post)
on February 15, 2006, 10:37 pm
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