Giant 240-mile line of thunderstorms: 1-5 Americans told to prepare for devastating derecho

New post on The Extinction Protocol: 2012 and beyond Mid-West braces for giant 240-mile line of thunderstorms: 1-5 Americans told to prepare for devastating derecho by The Extinction Protocol June 13, 2013 – CHICAGO - A gigantic line of powerful thunderstorms could affect one in five Americans as it rumbles from Iowa to Maryland packing hail, lightning and tree-toppling winds. Meteorologists are warning that the continuous line of storms may even spawn an unusual weather event called a derecho, which is a massive storm of strong straight-line winds spanning at least 240 miles. Wednesday's storms are also likely to generate tornadoes and cause power outages that will be followed by oppressive heat, said Bill Bunting, operations chief at the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. The risk of severe weather in Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, is roughly 45 times higher than on a normal June day, Bunting said. Detroit, Baltimore, Washington, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Louisville, Kentucky, have a risk level 15 times more than normal. All told, the area the weather service considers to be under heightened risk of dangerous weather includes 64 million people in 10 states. 'It's a pretty high threat,' Bunting said, who also warned that the storms will produce large hail and dangerous lightning. 'We don't want to scare people, but we want them to be aware.' Wednesday 'might be the worst severe weather outbreak for this part of the country for the year,' said Jeff Masters, meteorology director at Weather Underground. He said it is possible to have tornadoes and a derecho at the same time, but at any given place on Wednesday the straight-line winds are probably more likely. Last year, a derecho caused at least $1 billion in damage from Chicago to Washington, killing 13 people and leaving more than four million people without power, according to the weather service. Winds reached nearly 100mph in some places and in addition to the 13 people who died from downed trees, another 34 people died from the heat wave that followed in areas without power. Derechoes, with winds of at least 58mph, occur about once a year in the Midwest. Rarer than tornadoes but with weaker winds, derechoes produce damage over a much wider area. –Daily Mail contribution Irene The Extinction Protocol | June 13, 2013 at 5:19 am | Categories: Civilizations unraveling, Climate unraveling, Cloudburst storms with flashflooding, Deluge from torrential rains, Derecho storm, Earth Changes, Earth Watch, Erratic Jet Stream, Extreme Weather Event, Flooding, Gale-force winds and gusts, High-risk potential hazard zone, Lightning storm, Record rainfall, Time - Event Acceleration, Tornado Outbreak | URL: http://wp.me/p1eYXc-8FC Comment    See all comments    Like Shop Dee's Amazon Site  http://www.amazon.com/?&tag=heavenlyhan0a-20&linkCode=bsw& -  Support your friends!  http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2013/06/13/mid-west-braces-for-giant-240-mile-line-of-thunderstorms-1-5-americans-told-to-prepare-for-devastating-derecho/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com