Post by coots on Jun 14, 2013 0:10:38 GMT -5
Rare 'Derecho' Storm Forecast to Soak East Coast
A powerful storm that could turn into a rare “derecho” pounded the Midwest yesterday and is heading to the East Coast, threatening New York and the US Open golf tournament near Philadelphia.
A derecho - a Spanish word that can be defined as “straight ahead” - is an extremely powerful thunderstorm with straight-line winds generally between 58 and 100 mph.
The systems span more than 240 miles, and include hail and enough rain to cause flash floods.
Laymen call derechos land hurricanes. Victims call them scary.
Last June, a derecho packing winds of close to 100 mph barreled across the country from Illinois to the Mid-Atlantic, killing 13 people, causing $1 billion in damage and leaving more than 4 million people without power.
The current storm is so big that it could affect one in five Americans - about 64 million people in 10 states - as it rumbles from Iowa to Maryland packing hail, lightning and tree-toppling winds.
New Yorkers, still reeling from Hurricane Sandy last year, could dodge the heavy stuff, but they should still brace for a soggy day today with up to two inches of rain and coastal flooding.
“New York is on the fringes of the severe weather threat,” said Accu-weather meteorologist Tom Kines.
The U.S. Open got 111 minutes old before it came to its first halt.
On Thursday morning, the onrushing “derecho” storm chased players and fans off Merion Golf Club’s East Course at 8:36 a.m. The storm brought with it the dangers of lightning, hail, and inches of rain that could inundate the historic golf course with more flooding. From Friday to Monday, the course was doused with five total inches of rain.
But spotting an opening in the weather, the USGA is scheduled to reume play at 12:10 p.m. Every tee time was pushed back 3 hours and 34 minutes, meaning the super-group of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott will not tee off until 4:48 p.m. And that's only if there are no more weather delays. Unfortunately, following this slight gap is another storm, presumed to be nastier than the first wave.
Tiger Woods is scheduled to tee off at 1:14 p.m.
Open officials say the course drains well and they’re trying to reduce muddy areas where spectators are.
Still, all the preparations may not matter.
“If the severe weather doesn’t get them, eventually the heavy rain will,” Kines said.
The course has already been saturated by more than six inches of rain since last Friday.
“It could be anything from a quarter or half-an-inch up to two or three inches [of rain],” United States Golf Association executive director Mike Davis said.
“It really depends on what hits us or how lucky or unlucky we are. But there could be some really high winds with us, potentially damaging winds, even some hail.”
The risk of severe weather in Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, yesterday was roughly 45 times higher than on a normal June day, forecasters said.
And in the upcoming days, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Louisville, Ky., have a risk level 15 times more than normal.
"DERECHO" What ever happened to "Rain Storm"?
Forest Fire...NOW...Wild Fire
Murder of Servicemen at Army Base...NOW...Workplace Violence
Roadside Bomb...NOW...Improvised explosive device
A powerful storm that could turn into a rare “derecho” pounded the Midwest yesterday and is heading to the East Coast, threatening New York and the US Open golf tournament near Philadelphia.
A derecho - a Spanish word that can be defined as “straight ahead” - is an extremely powerful thunderstorm with straight-line winds generally between 58 and 100 mph.
The systems span more than 240 miles, and include hail and enough rain to cause flash floods.
Laymen call derechos land hurricanes. Victims call them scary.
Last June, a derecho packing winds of close to 100 mph barreled across the country from Illinois to the Mid-Atlantic, killing 13 people, causing $1 billion in damage and leaving more than 4 million people without power.
The current storm is so big that it could affect one in five Americans - about 64 million people in 10 states - as it rumbles from Iowa to Maryland packing hail, lightning and tree-toppling winds.
New Yorkers, still reeling from Hurricane Sandy last year, could dodge the heavy stuff, but they should still brace for a soggy day today with up to two inches of rain and coastal flooding.
“New York is on the fringes of the severe weather threat,” said Accu-weather meteorologist Tom Kines.
The U.S. Open got 111 minutes old before it came to its first halt.
On Thursday morning, the onrushing “derecho” storm chased players and fans off Merion Golf Club’s East Course at 8:36 a.m. The storm brought with it the dangers of lightning, hail, and inches of rain that could inundate the historic golf course with more flooding. From Friday to Monday, the course was doused with five total inches of rain.
But spotting an opening in the weather, the USGA is scheduled to reume play at 12:10 p.m. Every tee time was pushed back 3 hours and 34 minutes, meaning the super-group of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott will not tee off until 4:48 p.m. And that's only if there are no more weather delays. Unfortunately, following this slight gap is another storm, presumed to be nastier than the first wave.
Tiger Woods is scheduled to tee off at 1:14 p.m.
Open officials say the course drains well and they’re trying to reduce muddy areas where spectators are.
Still, all the preparations may not matter.
“If the severe weather doesn’t get them, eventually the heavy rain will,” Kines said.
The course has already been saturated by more than six inches of rain since last Friday.
“It could be anything from a quarter or half-an-inch up to two or three inches [of rain],” United States Golf Association executive director Mike Davis said.
“It really depends on what hits us or how lucky or unlucky we are. But there could be some really high winds with us, potentially damaging winds, even some hail.”
The risk of severe weather in Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, yesterday was roughly 45 times higher than on a normal June day, forecasters said.
And in the upcoming days, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Louisville, Ky., have a risk level 15 times more than normal.
"DERECHO" What ever happened to "Rain Storm"?
Forest Fire...NOW...Wild Fire
Murder of Servicemen at Army Base...NOW...Workplace Violence
Roadside Bomb...NOW...Improvised explosive device
