Eastern Derecho

More fires in Utah.  It never ends this year.  

Today, however, we'll take a quick look to the east.  Strong winds associated with a thunderstorm complex known as a derecho produced wind gusts up to 80 miles per hour, knocking out power for more than a million people in the DC area yesterday. 


Washington-Reagan airport had a wind gust to 70 mph. Check out the dramatic passage of the gust front just before 0300 UTC.


The power outages couldn't come at a worse time as the region is embroiled in a terrible heat wave and the loss of air conditioning is a concern for heat-related illness.  It hit 104ºF yesterday at Dulles Airport, setting a new maximum temperature record for June by 2 degrees.  Fortunately, it's running several degrees cooler today, although the heat is probably still a concern for vulnerable people.  

For more on the derecho and it's impacts, see this report from the Capitol Weather Gang.  

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