Great Lakes-Atlantic Coast derecho
Encyclopedia
The heat wave of 2006 derecho series was a series of severe wind
events associated with powerful thunderstorm
s, known as derecho
s, that occurred in a five-day period between July 17 and July 21, 2006. The first storms took place across a wide swath of north-central and northeastern North America
stretching from the Upper Midwest
, through much of Ontario
and into the northeastern United States
. Another round of storms affected the middle Mississippi River Valley, notably the city of St. Louis, Missouri
, which took a direct hit twice by powerful derechos. During the period, over 3,000,000 people across the region were left without power from the storms, some more than once and some did not have power restored for weeks after the event.
in the early afternoon hours of July 17. It crossed the North Channel
into Northeastern Ontario
near Sault Ste. Marie
, where it quickly developed into a derecho
line. As it crossed Manitoulin Island
just southeast of Sault Ste. Marie in Lake Huron
, numerous trees were uprooted and some homes sustained heavy damage. An official wind gust of 128 km/h (80 mph) was recorded at the Killarney
weather station on the north shore of Lake Huron. Tornado
warnings were issued for the area, but damage was consistent with severe straight-line winds.
At about 15:30-16:00 EDT (19:30-20:00 UTC), the storm raced through Sudbury, toppling hydro poles and trees. Highway 69
, the major highway linking Sudbury and Toronto
, had to be shut down because electrical wires blocked the highway. At that point, the storm system started to take the form of a comma, signature of a fast-moving progressive derecho.
At about 17:30 EDT (21:30 UTC), the storm gathered further intensity before striking North Bay
, a city of over 50,000, and the surrounding Nipissing District
. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off and many buildings sustained heavy surface and some structural damage. Just south of the city, radio tower
s and a lighthouse
were demolished by the violent winds. At the nearby Jack Garland Airport
, the wind measuring instrument
snapped off before the peak gusts could be recorded; some estimates put them higher than 180 km/h (111 mph). Tornado warning
s were in effect for the area and several funnels were reported but none has been confirmed. Within the district, the communities of West Nipissing
, Callander
, East Ferris
and Mattawa
, all about five hours north of Toronto, declared states of emergency in the wake of the storm as roadways in the area were blocked by felled trees and power was out throughout the region. The town of Mattawa and rural areas in West Nipissing were particularly hard hit as storage silo
es were torn apart, roofs were torn from buildings, utility poles were snapped in two and roads were entirely impassible from the debris strewn across them, in some cases for weeks after the storm.
At the same time, the storm affected the Algonquin Park region (mostly the northern portion) and fallen trees killed at least one man from Michigan and injured another, also from Michigan, who were on a canoe trip near Kiosk
, a small community located at the northern end of the park.
affecting places in Renfrew County such as Barry's Bay
, Deep River
, Cobden
, Petawawa
and Pembroke
. There were numerous reports of damage, particularly blown-off or damaged roofs.
After crossing the Pembroke area, the derecho started to lose some steam. At times, the storm moved at a forward speed of 100–120 km/h (65-75 mph) but had slowed down somewhat when it entered the Pontiac
region of western Quebec. Also, the north-south oriented line became more disorganized at its southern end. Still, the storm carried a lot of lightning
and damaging wind as it crossed portions of the Outaouais region, the city of Gatineau and extreme northern portions of the city of Ottawa
, primarily closer to the Ottawa River
, at around 21:00 EDT. Areas such as Chelsea
, Cantley
, La Peche
, Notre-Dame-du-Laus and Kazabazua
were hit hard. Spectacular lightning was seen from downtown Ottawa and, when the storm was close enough, some pinkish colour was seen in the northern sky. In the Upper Gatineau north of the National Capital Region
, several houses and cottages were damaged and scores of trees were snapped by winds in excess of 90 km/h (55 mph). Five campers were injured by fallen trees, caused by a microburst
, while camping in Notre-Dame du Laus. Meanwhile, in the Maniwaki area, a local radio station antenna suffered extensive damage. Northwest of that town in Grand-Remous
, several trailers in a park were heavily damaged or destroyed by the force of the winds but no injuries were reported there. Additional damage was reported in the Papineau
region further east as well as in Mont-Laurier
and the popular tourist village of Mont-Tremblant in the Upper Laurentians
. The cities of Ottawa and Gatineau were brushed by the storm but escaped the worst of the effects.
north of Montreal
. The following day, the remnants of the derecho would re-fire over parts of New England including Maine
but were not as severe as the original cluster.
northwest of Maniwaki, Quebec
during the height of the storm.
Hydro One
in Ontario reported that over 170,000 customers were left without power in the northeast part of the province and that 90% of the city of North Bay lost power. All of Manitoulin Island
was without power. Many others areas including the Sudbury area and the Upper Ottawa Valley towns of Pembroke
, Mattawa
and Petawawa
also had major power outage
s. Major outages were reported in several areas in Quebec particularly in the Outaouais region. Hydro-Québec estimated that 145,000 of their customers lost power but separate storms in the areas around Rouyn-Noranda
, Val-d'Or
, Montreal
, Trois-Rivières
and Quebec City
contributed to the some of the outages. If the storm track had been just a few kilometres further south, hitting directly populated areas in the city of Ottawa and downtown Gatineau, these numbers would have been much higher and property damage would have been greater.
Final damage assessments from this destructive storm are unlikely ever to be fully known, in part because of the remoteness of large portions of the affected area. The precise injury count and death toll are also uncertain, again due to inaccessibility to parts of the region, especially with trees blocking so many remote roads. Environment Canada
investigated areas with heavy damage to ascertain whether tornadoes touched down, particularly on the Manitoulin Island
and in Larder Lake, near Kirkland Lake but, at this stage, almost all damage reports are straight-line in nature and radar imagery favours a classic 'progressive derecho storm' with winds of up to and possibly exceeding 200 km/h (120 mph) at its peak, possibly with embedded tornadoes.
Later that evening a powerful cool front crossed southern Ontario causing further storm damage in Ontario (see below).
as it crossed the area later that same evening. There were dozens of reports of significant wind or tornado damage, especially in Michigan
but also in southern Ontario
, Wisconsin
, Illinois
, Iowa
and as far south as northern Missouri
. The setup was similar along the long cold front, and the hot, humid air mass led to the damaging derecho, although the stronger derecho that affected areas well north of there formed much earlier that day in Upper Michigan just before noon local time. It had a clearly defined bow echo (squall line
) formation, unlike these cells which were more fragmented. Relevant to the atmospheric dynamics at this time is the fact that that, according to the NWS forecast discussion from a number of stations, that a terrestrial subtropical storm had developed over Iowa and was moving slowly northeast—apparently this was a low pressure area devoid or almost devoid of extratropical characteristics.
, Lake Scugog
and the Kawartha Lakes
region further to the east. Numerous trees and power lines were downed in those areas and one camper was killed (the second that day) when a tree crashed into a camping trailer at the Warsaw Caves Provincial Park, 30 km (18.6 mi) northeast of Peterborough. Official wind gusts reached 100 km/h (60 mph) at Pearson Airport near Toronto and 107 km/h (66 mph) at Peterborough Airport. Heavy storms also crossed Essex County
in the southwest, associated with a southward moving line that hit much of lower Michigan. At least 70,000 people lost power in the south, bringing the total to at least 300,000 customers who lost power in Ontario that day. On July 19, 2006, Environment Canada confirmed two tornadoes hit a residential section of Newmarket. (See Tornadoes of 2006
article)
. Several houses were severely damaged, and many others suffered various degrees of damage. In addition, the Oceana County Fairgrounds lost at least one of its buildings to the winds. At least one person was injured in the county. Extensive damage was reported in Benzie County
. Wind speeds of 106 km/h (66 mph) were recorded in Saginaw
.
Agricultural
damage was severe; many grape
and cherry
crops were heavily damaged or destroyed, especially in Antrim
, Grand Traverse
and Leelanau
counties. Since the storm took place just as the fruit crops were attaining maturity, the storm's effect on farmers was devastating.
One person was killed by a lightning strike in the Detroit area. In Michigan, over 270,000 people were without power at the storm's peak.
. Winds were officially estimated to be at least 100 km/h (60 mph) but unofficial readings exceeded 120 km/h (75 mph) in Kohler
. Some thought it was a tornado that hit but it was later confirmed to have been straight-line winds like most of the derecho.
Significant damage was reported in the city of Manitowoc
, where hundreds of trees, power poles, and signs were blown down, knocking out power to hundreds of homes. Winds unofficially reached 120 to 130 km/h (60 to 65 mph) at the storm's peak. No injuries were reported in the state.
More than 110,000 people were without power at the peak of the storm in Illinois, from Lake County
to the Mississippi River
. Peak wind gusts as high as 110 km/h (70 mph) were recorded in Stephenson. Some of the hardest hit areas were Crystal Lake
, Mundelein
, Rockford
, Lake Zurich
and Buffalo Grove
. Damage was reported as far south as the city of Chicago
, particularly on the Northwest Side. Numerous houses lost their roof as a result of the winds. Several people were injured, some due to lightning strikes.
, along with numerous hail and high wind reports in the eastern part of the state.
. It produced similar damage over a large swath of New England
and the Mid-Atlantic states
.
The most significant line began in western Maryland
, then tracked north-northeastward into southeastern Pennsylvania
, northern New Jersey
and the northern suburbs of New York City
before tracking eastward into southern New England
.
The system generally moved in an easterly direction, with new cells popping up further north as old cells dissipated. The first cells affected the southernmost part of Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. A new cell took over in northern New Jersey, crossing southern New York
and southern New England.
Tree and power line damage were widespread throughout the affected area. A few people were injured, and several others barely escaped injury as a result of trees falling onto houses and cars. Some of the most spectacular footage came out of Providence
harbor in Rhode Island
, where a tanker caught in the winds exploded in the harbour while unloading gasoline
. Fortunately, it moved away from the dock, preventing severe damage in the harbor.
Two people were killed by fallen trees in Chester County, Pennsylvania
.
No tornadoes were reported in the region.
area alone over 500,000 people were without power at the peak of the storm, according to PECO
and PSE&G
. Many customers would remain without power until the weekend. The outage took place just after PECO had set record highs for electricity usage as a result of the extreme heat wave. Power crews from as far away as Chicago were called in to help restore power, after repairing the damage from the previous day's storms. A state of emergency was declared in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
as a result of the storm.
In northern New Jersey, about 110,000 people were without power at the peak of the storm.
In New England, the damage was equally severe. More than 22,000 customers lost power in Connecticut
at the storm's peak. In Rhode Island
, that number was 30,000.
Railroad service was severely affected; several lines in northern New Jersey and southern New York were completely blocked by debris and the electric trains disrupted by power outages on several lines.
The wind graphic from the SPC shows an extensive trail of wind damage, with over 100 reports in the region.
metropolitan area at about close to 7 p.m. on July 19. In all, 9 storm-related deaths were reported with 7 confirmed tornadoes.
(00:45 UTC) that evening. The storms produced destructive straight-line winds across the metropolitan area, along with two isolated F0
tornado
es. These storms downed many trees atop active power lines, creating the largest electricity outage in the history of the City of St. Louis. More than 1,200,000 residents of the area were left without power amidst a heat wave during an already hot and humid midwestern United States summer. The outage was described by Ameren
as the worst in the utility's history. The highest winds officially recorded were in Macoupin County, Illinois
, in the northern part of the metropolitan area, where 160 km/h (100 mph) winds were recorded. Most of the region saw hurricane-force wind gusts near 130 km/h (80 mph).
At first, there was little warning that such a storm was going to hit. The moderate risk area was well to the north, and no severe weather was forecast in the area. The derecho surprised a sellout crowd of almost 44,000 St. Louis Cardinals
fans, packed into the new Busch Stadium
, to see the Cardinals versus the Atlanta Braves
. Winds of about 130 km/h (80 mph) whirled around the St. Louis area, sending the fans running for shelter. The winds knocked out power and broke windows out of the press box
. Nearly two minutes after the winds began at 100 mph, they stopped, and it began to rain. In all, about 30 people were injured at the stadium.
The storms went on to hit other cities in Illinois, including Alton
, O'Fallon
, Edwardsville
, Bethalto
, Glen Carbon
and East St. Louis
. The neighbouring towns of East Alton
, Wood River
, and Roxana
house the third largest oil refinery
in the United States. When the storms hit, they uprooted nearly 30% of all trees in the area, knocked out power for nearly a week, and left the refineries powerless.
or ice after the storms were faced with long queues at local grocery, hardware stores and gas stations. Many point-of-sale readers and automated banking machines were malfunctioning. Cash was the only usable tender at many locations. Gas shortages also became an issue as well as some food shortages.
After a few days, power began to come back on for most St. Louis citizens. Illinois was entirely up and running by July 27. The Florissant, Missouri
area, which was hardest hit, was finally turned on by July 29, ten days after the storm.
The storms left a heightened awareness within local and state governments that this is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country inside the outer belt of "Tornado Alley
"; hence it is not completely safe. Ameren UE was criticized by some for not attending to their needs as quickly as others.
After hitting St. Louis, the storm stayed on a southwesterly track through the Ozarks of south-central Missouri. The derecho finally fizzled out in northern Arkansas.
declared St Louis a State of Emergency
and sent the National Guard to assist the citizens with shelter, food, supplies, etc.
and the vast majority of the continental U.S.
Temperatures in Toronto, Ottawa, Windsor
and Montreal were approaching 35°C (95°F) for a few days including the day of the storms, while Heat Index
values were exceeding well over 40°C (104°F) in some areas. Temperatures hit 100°F (38°C) at LaGuardia Airport in New York on July 18 and in St. Louis, Missouri on July 19, before storms pummeled those metropolitan areas.
This heat wave was somewhat similar in structure but less deadly than the 1995 Heat Wave which had also spawned several destructive derechos across the Great Lakes
.
, August 1 in southern Quebec
from the upper Laurentians
to the Eastern Townships
and on August 2 from eastern Michigan
to southeastern Ontario
. On these three days, the meteorological conditions were quite similar to July 17. However, damage was more localized, and on August 2 it was associated with a more classic cold front passage. Nonetheless, there were several dozen tornadoes reported (a record 17 in Ontario alone on August 2 — breaking the single day record (14) for the province in 1985), mostly F0-F2 in strength, and contained within supercell
s that struck the central south cottage country
part of that province. Property insurance claims in Ontario from that storm topped $500,000,000 CAD.
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
events associated with powerful thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
s, known as derecho
Derecho
A derecho is a widespread and long-lived, violent convectively induced straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms in the form of a squall line usually taking the form of a bow echo...
s, that occurred in a five-day period between July 17 and July 21, 2006. The first storms took place across a wide swath of north-central and northeastern North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
stretching from the Upper Midwest
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the midwest. Although there are no uniformly agreed-upon boundaries, the region is most commonly used to refer to the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and...
, through much of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and into the northeastern United States
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
. Another round of storms affected the middle Mississippi River Valley, notably the city of St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, which took a direct hit twice by powerful derechos. During the period, over 3,000,000 people across the region were left without power from the storms, some more than once and some did not have power restored for weeks after the event.
Northern Michigan and Northeastern Ontario
The derecho originated from a severe thunderstorm that was forming across portions of the Upper Peninsula and the northernmost parts of the lower Peninsula of MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
in the early afternoon hours of July 17. It crossed the North Channel
North Channel (Ontario)
The North Channel is the body of water along the north shore of Lake Huron, in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is bordered on the east by Georgian Bay, on the west by the St. Marys River, to the north by the eastern Algoma District and to the south by the islands of Manitoulin, Cockburn,...
into Northeastern Ontario
Northeastern Ontario
Northeastern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and east of Lakes Superior and Huron.Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timiskaming, Nipissing and Manitoulin; and the single-tier municipality of Greater...
near Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
, where it quickly developed into a derecho
Derecho
A derecho is a widespread and long-lived, violent convectively induced straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms in the form of a squall line usually taking the form of a bow echo...
line. As it crossed Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island is a Canadian island in Lake Huron, in the province of Ontario. It is the largest island in a freshwater lake in the world. In addition to the historic Anishinaabe and European settlement of the island, archeological discoveries at Sheguiandah have demonstrated Paleo-Indian and...
just southeast of Sault Ste. Marie in Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
, numerous trees were uprooted and some homes sustained heavy damage. An official wind gust of 128 km/h (80 mph) was recorded at the Killarney
Killarney, Ontario
Killarney is a municipality located on the northern shore of Georgian Bay in the Sudbury District of Ontario. It is also the name of the largest community within the municipality...
weather station on the north shore of Lake Huron. Tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
warnings were issued for the area, but damage was consistent with severe straight-line winds.
At about 15:30-16:00 EDT (19:30-20:00 UTC), the storm raced through Sudbury, toppling hydro poles and trees. Highway 69
Ontario Highway 69
King's Highway 69, commonly referred to as Highway 69, is a major north–south highway in the central area of the Canadian province of Ontario, linking Highway 400 north of Parry Sound with Sudbury...
, the major highway linking Sudbury and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, had to be shut down because electrical wires blocked the highway. At that point, the storm system started to take the form of a comma, signature of a fast-moving progressive derecho.
At about 17:30 EDT (21:30 UTC), the storm gathered further intensity before striking North Bay
North Bay, Ontario
North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...
, a city of over 50,000, and the surrounding Nipissing District
Nipissing District, Ontario
Nipissing District, Ontario is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1858. The district seat is North Bay.In 2006, the population was 84,688...
. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off and many buildings sustained heavy surface and some structural damage. Just south of the city, radio tower
Radio masts and towers
Radio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. They are among the tallest man-made structures...
s and a lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
were demolished by the violent winds. At the nearby Jack Garland Airport
North Bay/Jack Garland Airport
North Bay Airport or North Bay/Jack Garland Airport in North Bay, Ontario, Canada is located at Hornell Heights, north-northeast of the city. The airport serves as a North American Aerospace Defense Command base....
, the wind measuring instrument
Anemometer
An anemometer is a device for measuring wind speed, and is a common weather station instrument. The term is derived from the Greek word anemos, meaning wind, and is used to describe any airspeed measurement instrument used in meteorology or aerodynamics...
snapped off before the peak gusts could be recorded; some estimates put them higher than 180 km/h (111 mph). Tornado warning
Tornado warning
A tornado warning is an alert issued by government weather services to warn that severe thunderstorms with tornadoes may be imminent. It can be issued after a tornado or funnel cloud has been spotted by eye, or more commonly if there are radar indications of tornado formation...
s were in effect for the area and several funnels were reported but none has been confirmed. Within the district, the communities of West Nipissing
West Nipissing, Ontario
West Nipissing is a town in northeastern Ontario, Canada, on Lake Nipissing in the Nipissing District. It was formed on January 1, 1999, with the amalgamation of seventeen and a half former towns, villages, townships and unorganized communities....
, Callander
Callander, Ontario
The Municipality of Callander is a township in central Ontario, Canada, located at the southeast end of Lake Nipissing in the District of Parry Sound...
, East Ferris
East Ferris, Ontario
East Ferris is a township in northeastern Ontario, Canada located between Trout Lake and Lake Nosbonsing in the District of Nipissing. West Ferris has long been annexed into the city of North Bay.-Communities:...
and Mattawa
Mattawa, Ontario
Mattawa is a town in northeastern Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers in Nipissing District. Mattawa means "Meeting of the Waters" in Ojibwa...
, all about five hours north of Toronto, declared states of emergency in the wake of the storm as roadways in the area were blocked by felled trees and power was out throughout the region. The town of Mattawa and rural areas in West Nipissing were particularly hard hit as storage silo
Storage silo
A silo is a structure for storing bulk materials. Silos are used in agriculture to store grain or fermented feed known as silage. Silos are more commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use...
es were torn apart, roofs were torn from buildings, utility poles were snapped in two and roads were entirely impassible from the debris strewn across them, in some cases for weeks after the storm.
At the same time, the storm affected the Algonquin Park region (mostly the northern portion) and fallen trees killed at least one man from Michigan and injured another, also from Michigan, who were on a canoe trip near Kiosk
Kiosk, Ontario
Kiosk is an unincorporated place and former railway point and community in geographic Pentland Township in the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District in northeastern Ontario, Canada...
, a small community located at the northern end of the park.
Ottawa Valley, Upper Gatineau & Pontiac regions (Eastern Ontario & Southwestern Quebec)
Through the next two hours the storm entered the Upper Ottawa ValleyOttawa Valley
The Ottawa Valley is the valley along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec along the Ottawa River. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield...
affecting places in Renfrew County such as Barry's Bay
Barry's Bay, Ontario
Barry's Bay is a community in the township of Madawaska Valley, Ontario, Canada, located two hours west of Ottawa on the shores of Kamaniskeg Lake, with a population of approximately 1,300 people...
, Deep River
Deep River, Ontario
Deep River is a town in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. Located along the Ottawa River, it lies about north-west of Ottawa on the Trans-Canada Highway...
, Cobden
Cobden, Ontario
Cobden is a small community in the Township of Whitewater Region, in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. It is located roughly halfway between Renfrew, Ontario and Pembroke, Ontario on Highway 17...
, Petawawa
Petawawa, Ontario
Petawawa is a town located in eastern portion of Southern Ontario. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, with a population of 14,651 . Petawawa is the most populous municipality in Renfrew County.-Geography:...
and Pembroke
Pembroke, Ontario
Pembroke is a city in the province of Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley...
. There were numerous reports of damage, particularly blown-off or damaged roofs.
After crossing the Pembroke area, the derecho started to lose some steam. At times, the storm moved at a forward speed of 100–120 km/h (65-75 mph) but had slowed down somewhat when it entered the Pontiac
Pontiac Regional County Municipality, Quebec
Pontiac is a county regional municipality MRC Pontiac in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. It should not be confused with the municipality of Pontiac, which is located inside the county regional municipality of Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais....
region of western Quebec. Also, the north-south oriented line became more disorganized at its southern end. Still, the storm carried a lot of lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
and damaging wind as it crossed portions of the Outaouais region, the city of Gatineau and extreme northern portions of the city of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, primarily closer to the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
, at around 21:00 EDT. Areas such as Chelsea
Chelsea, Quebec
Chelsea is a municipality located immediately north of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada and about 7 miles north of Ottawa. Chelsea is located within Canada's National Capital Region. In 2006 the population was 6,703....
, Cantley
Cantley, Quebec
Cantley, Quebec, Canada, is a rural municipality north of the city of Gatineau, east of the Gatineau River, located within Canada's National Capital Region approximately 15–20 minutes from Parliament Hill. The population in 2006 was 7,926. Between 2001 and 2006, Cantley had the largest population...
, La Peche
La Pêche, Quebec
La Pêche is a municipality along both sides of the Gatineau River in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada, about north of downtown Hull. It is part of the Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais Regional County Municipality and comprises the following villages and...
, Notre-Dame-du-Laus and Kazabazua
Kazabazua, Quebec
Kazabazua is a village and municipality in La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. The village is about halfway between Maniwaki and Hull at the intersection of Route 105 and Route 301, just west of the Gatineau River....
were hit hard. Spectacular lightning was seen from downtown Ottawa and, when the storm was close enough, some pinkish colour was seen in the northern sky. In the Upper Gatineau north of the National Capital Region
National Capital Region (Canada)
The National Capital Region, also referred to as Canada's Capital Region, is an official federal designation for the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario, the neighbouring city of Gatineau, Quebec, and surrounding urban and rural communities....
, several houses and cottages were damaged and scores of trees were snapped by winds in excess of 90 km/h (55 mph). Five campers were injured by fallen trees, caused by a microburst
Microburst
A microburst is a very localized column of sinking air, producing damaging divergent and straight-line winds at the surface that are similar to, but distinguishable from, tornadoes, which generally have convergent damage. There are two types of microbursts: wet microbursts and dry microbursts...
, while camping in Notre-Dame du Laus. Meanwhile, in the Maniwaki area, a local radio station antenna suffered extensive damage. Northwest of that town in Grand-Remous
Grand-Remous, Quebec
Grand-Remous is a town and municipality in La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. The municipality is south of the Baskatong Reservoir, spanning both sides of the Gatineau River...
, several trailers in a park were heavily damaged or destroyed by the force of the winds but no injuries were reported there. Additional damage was reported in the Papineau
Papineau Regional County Municipality, Quebec
Papineau is a county regional municipality of Quebec in Canada located in the Outaouais region. The regional seat is Papineauville.-Communities:*Cities and Towns**Thurso*Municipalities** Boileau** Bowman** Chénéville** Duhamel** Fassett...
region further east as well as in Mont-Laurier
Mont-Laurier, Quebec
Mont-Laurier is a town and incorporated municipality in northwest Quebec, Canada, located on the banks of the Rivière du Lièvre, a tributary of the Ottawa River. Known as the “Capital of the Haute-Laurentides”, the motto of the town is Laurus elationis praemium, which translates to “Lift the...
and the popular tourist village of Mont-Tremblant in the Upper Laurentians
Laurentides (region)
The Laurentides is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains...
. The cities of Ottawa and Gatineau were brushed by the storm but escaped the worst of the effects.
Southern Quebec
During the rest of the late evening, the storm weakened as it travelled through southern Quebec and eastern Ontario, but it still contained a fair amount of lightning when it crossed the LaurentiansLaurentides (region)
The Laurentides is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains...
north of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. The following day, the remnants of the derecho would re-fire over parts of New England including Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
but were not as severe as the original cluster.
Aftermath
As a result of the storm at least one person died in the Algonquin Park region while another person was severely injured by a fallen tree. Other injuries occurred in many areas hit by the storms. Two people were briefly missing at the La Vérendrye Wildlife ReserveLa Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve
La Vérendrye wildlife reserve is one of the largest reserves in the province of Quebec, Canada, covering 12,589 square kilometres of contiguous land and lake area . It is named after Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, a French-Canadian explorer...
northwest of Maniwaki, Quebec
Maniwaki, Quebec
Maniwaki is a town north of Gatineau and located north-west of Montreal, in the province of Quebec, Canada. The town is situated on the Gatineau River, at the crossroads of Route 105 and Route 107, not far south of Route 117...
during the height of the storm.
Hydro One
Hydro One
Hydro One Incorporated delivers electricity across the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a Corporation established under the Business Corporations Act with a single shareholder, the Government of Ontario....
in Ontario reported that over 170,000 customers were left without power in the northeast part of the province and that 90% of the city of North Bay lost power. All of Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island is a Canadian island in Lake Huron, in the province of Ontario. It is the largest island in a freshwater lake in the world. In addition to the historic Anishinaabe and European settlement of the island, archeological discoveries at Sheguiandah have demonstrated Paleo-Indian and...
was without power. Many others areas including the Sudbury area and the Upper Ottawa Valley towns of Pembroke
Pembroke, Ontario
Pembroke is a city in the province of Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley...
, Mattawa
Mattawa, Ontario
Mattawa is a town in northeastern Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers in Nipissing District. Mattawa means "Meeting of the Waters" in Ojibwa...
and Petawawa
Petawawa, Ontario
Petawawa is a town located in eastern portion of Southern Ontario. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, with a population of 14,651 . Petawawa is the most populous municipality in Renfrew County.-Geography:...
also had major power outage
Power outage
A power outage is a short- or long-term loss of the electric power to an area.There are many causes of power failures in an electricity network...
s. Major outages were reported in several areas in Quebec particularly in the Outaouais region. Hydro-Québec estimated that 145,000 of their customers lost power but separate storms in the areas around Rouyn-Noranda
Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec
Rouyn-Noranda is a city on Osisko Lake in northwestern Quebec, Canada.The city of Rouyn-Noranda is coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality and census division of Quebec of the same name...
, Val-d'Or
Val-d'Or, Quebec
-External links:* ***...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Trois-Rivières is a city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada, located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence Rivers. It is situated in the Mauricie administrative region, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of Bécancour...
and Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
contributed to the some of the outages. If the storm track had been just a few kilometres further south, hitting directly populated areas in the city of Ottawa and downtown Gatineau, these numbers would have been much higher and property damage would have been greater.
Final damage assessments from this destructive storm are unlikely ever to be fully known, in part because of the remoteness of large portions of the affected area. The precise injury count and death toll are also uncertain, again due to inaccessibility to parts of the region, especially with trees blocking so many remote roads. Environment Canada
Environment Canada
Environment Canada , legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment Canada (EC) (French: Environnement Canada), legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment...
investigated areas with heavy damage to ascertain whether tornadoes touched down, particularly on the Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island is a Canadian island in Lake Huron, in the province of Ontario. It is the largest island in a freshwater lake in the world. In addition to the historic Anishinaabe and European settlement of the island, archeological discoveries at Sheguiandah have demonstrated Paleo-Indian and...
and in Larder Lake, near Kirkland Lake but, at this stage, almost all damage reports are straight-line in nature and radar imagery favours a classic 'progressive derecho storm' with winds of up to and possibly exceeding 200 km/h (120 mph) at its peak, possibly with embedded tornadoes.
Later that evening a powerful cool front crossed southern Ontario causing further storm damage in Ontario (see below).
Central Great Lakes-Upper Midwest derecho (July 17, 2006)
While the northern part of the system was producing severe damage in Canada (northeastern Ontario and southern Quebec), an associated cold front led to significant damage in the US Midwest and Southern OntarioSouthern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
as it crossed the area later that same evening. There were dozens of reports of significant wind or tornado damage, especially in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
but also in southern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and as far south as northern Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. The setup was similar along the long cold front, and the hot, humid air mass led to the damaging derecho, although the stronger derecho that affected areas well north of there formed much earlier that day in Upper Michigan just before noon local time. It had a clearly defined bow echo (squall line
Squall line
A squall line is a line of severe thunderstorms that can form along or ahead of a cold front. In the early 20th century, the term was used as a synonym for cold front. It contains heavy precipitation, hail, frequent lightning, strong straight-line winds, and possibly tornadoes and waterspouts....
) formation, unlike these cells which were more fragmented. Relevant to the atmospheric dynamics at this time is the fact that that, according to the NWS forecast discussion from a number of stations, that a terrestrial subtropical storm had developed over Iowa and was moving slowly northeast—apparently this was a low pressure area devoid or almost devoid of extratropical characteristics.
Southern Ontario
Sweeping from west to east in the late-evening hours, the greatest concentration of damage was centred around NewmarketNewmarket, Ontario
Newmarket is a town in Southern Ontario located approximately 50 km north of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is connected to Toronto by freeway, and is served by three interchanges along Highway 404. It is also connected to Highway 400 via Highway 9...
, Lake Scugog
Lake Scugog
Lake Scugog is an artificially flooded lake in Scugog Township between the town of Port Perry, Ontario and the town of Lindsay. The lake has been raised and lowered several times over its history. Though not technically part of the Kawarthas due to its shallow depths, it is often geographically...
and the Kawartha Lakes
Kawartha Lakes
The city of Kawartha Lakes is a unitary municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Although called a city, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typical Ontarian county and is mostly rural....
region further to the east. Numerous trees and power lines were downed in those areas and one camper was killed (the second that day) when a tree crashed into a camping trailer at the Warsaw Caves Provincial Park, 30 km (18.6 mi) northeast of Peterborough. Official wind gusts reached 100 km/h (60 mph) at Pearson Airport near Toronto and 107 km/h (66 mph) at Peterborough Airport. Heavy storms also crossed Essex County
Essex County, Ontario
Essex County is a county and census division located in Southwestern Ontario and covers an area at the southernmost tip of Canada. The administrative seat is Essex...
in the southwest, associated with a southward moving line that hit much of lower Michigan. At least 70,000 people lost power in the south, bringing the total to at least 300,000 customers who lost power in Ontario that day. On July 19, 2006, Environment Canada confirmed two tornadoes hit a residential section of Newmarket. (See Tornadoes of 2006
Tornadoes of 2006
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2006. Since the greatest coverage is in the United States, most of these events listed were primarily in the US...
article)
Michigan
The hardest-hit areas of Michigan appear to have been in the northern and central lower parts of the state, particularly in and around Oceana CountyOceana County, Michigan
-US highways:* US-31* US 31 Business Route is a spur serving downtown Hart.* US 31 Business Route loops through downtown Pentwater, returning to mainline US-31 at both ends.-Michigan State Trunklines:* M-20* M-120-Intercounty Highways:*B-15...
. Several houses were severely damaged, and many others suffered various degrees of damage. In addition, the Oceana County Fairgrounds lost at least one of its buildings to the winds. At least one person was injured in the county. Extensive damage was reported in Benzie County
Benzie County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 15,998 people, 6,500 households, and 4,595 families residing in the county. The population density was 50 people per square mile . There were 10,312 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...
. Wind speeds of 106 km/h (66 mph) were recorded in Saginaw
Saginaw, Michigan
Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...
.
Agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
damage was severe; many grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
and cherry
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
crops were heavily damaged or destroyed, especially in Antrim
Antrim County, Michigan
-History:Antrim County was formed in 1863. In 1950 its population was 10,721. The county seat was originally located in Elk Rapids, but was moved to Bellaire in 1904 after 25 years of litigation.-Demographics:...
, Grand Traverse
Grand Traverse County, Michigan
-Air service:*Grand Traverse County is served by Cherry Capital Airport, which is located near Traverse City.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 77,654 people, 30,396 households, and 20,730 families residing in the county. The population density was 167 people per square mile . ...
and Leelanau
Leelanau County, Michigan
-History:The county's name is said to be a Native American word meaning "delight of life", but it is a neologism made up by Indian agent and ethnographer Henry Schoolcraft, who sometimes gave the name "Leelinau" to Native American women in his tales. He created many faux Indian place names in...
counties. Since the storm took place just as the fruit crops were attaining maturity, the storm's effect on farmers was devastating.
One person was killed by a lightning strike in the Detroit area. In Michigan, over 270,000 people were without power at the storm's peak.
Wisconsin
Significant wind damage was reported in the afternoon of July 17 in parts of Wisconsin, especially the northeastern part around Sheboygan and Manitowoc. High winds knocked out power to at least 12,000 people and even knocked vehicles off Interstate 43Interstate 43
Interstate 43 is a intrastate Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Wisconsin, connecting Interstate 39 and Interstate 90 in Beloit with Milwaukee and U.S. Route 41 and U.S. Route 141 in Green Bay. I-43 is the 5th longest intrastate Interstate Highway of the Interstate...
. Winds were officially estimated to be at least 100 km/h (60 mph) but unofficial readings exceeded 120 km/h (75 mph) in Kohler
Kohler, Wisconsin
Kohler is a village in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Sheboygan River. The population was 1,926 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
. Some thought it was a tornado that hit but it was later confirmed to have been straight-line winds like most of the derecho.
Significant damage was reported in the city of Manitowoc
Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Manitowoc is a city in and the county seat of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2000 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,053, with over 50,000 residents in the surrounding communities...
, where hundreds of trees, power poles, and signs were blown down, knocking out power to hundreds of homes. Winds unofficially reached 120 to 130 km/h (60 to 65 mph) at the storm's peak. No injuries were reported in the state.
Illinois
Damage was reported in extreme northern Illinois along the same line. Trees and power lines were knocked over in much of the northernmost areas, some landing on power lines and buildings. Extreme heat compounded the problem, forcing emergencies to be declared in several communities.More than 110,000 people were without power at the peak of the storm in Illinois, from Lake County
Lake County, Illinois
Lake County is a county in the northeastern corner of the state of Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 703,462, which is an increase of 9.2% from 644,356 in 2000. Its county seat is Waukegan. The county is part of the Chicago metropolitan area...
to the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Peak wind gusts as high as 110 km/h (70 mph) were recorded in Stephenson. Some of the hardest hit areas were Crystal Lake
Crystal Lake, Illinois
Crystal Lake is a city located in southeastern McHenry County in northeastern Illinois, in the Chicago suburbs. It is named after Crystal Lake, a lake located west-southwest of downtown. Crystal Lake is also a suburb of the city of Chicago. The population was 38,000 at the 2000 census, but as of...
, Mundelein
Mundelein, Illinois
Mundelein is a village in Lake County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 31,064.-History:The community now known as Mundelein has been inhabited since at least 1650, when the Potowatami Indians were known to have been trading with French fur traders....
, Rockford
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
, Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich, Illinois
Lake Zurich is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States, a suburb of Chicago. The population was 18,104 at the 2000 census. A 2003 special census put the village's population at 19,005....
and Buffalo Grove
Buffalo Grove, Illinois
Buffalo Grove is an affluent village located in the northern suburbs of Chicago, and in Cook and Lake counties in Illinois, United States. The town was named for Buffalo Creek, which was itself named for bison bones found in the area....
. Damage was reported as far south as the city of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, particularly on the Northwest Side. Numerous houses lost their roof as a result of the winds. Several people were injured, some due to lightning strikes.
Iowa
One tornado touched down at TamaTama, Iowa
Tama is a city in Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,731 at the 2000 census. Tama is located a few miles from the Meskwaki Settlement, Iowa's only significant Native American community. Tama was located on the historic Lincoln Highway and is home to an original Lincoln Highway...
, along with numerous hail and high wind reports in the eastern part of the state.
Atlantic Coast derecho (July 18, 2006)
The same system refired on July 18 over the Northeastern United StatesNortheastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
. It produced similar damage over a large swath of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and the Mid-Atlantic states
Mid-Atlantic States
The Mid-Atlantic states, also called middle Atlantic states or simply the mid Atlantic, form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
.
The event
Like the system in Ontario but unlike the squall line of the upper Midwest, this was a continuous series of storms that produced widespread damage along its path.The most significant line began in western Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, then tracked north-northeastward into southeastern Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, northern New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and the northern suburbs of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
before tracking eastward into southern New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
.
The system generally moved in an easterly direction, with new cells popping up further north as old cells dissipated. The first cells affected the southernmost part of Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. A new cell took over in northern New Jersey, crossing southern New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and southern New England.
Tree and power line damage were widespread throughout the affected area. A few people were injured, and several others barely escaped injury as a result of trees falling onto houses and cars. Some of the most spectacular footage came out of Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
harbor in Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, where a tanker caught in the winds exploded in the harbour while unloading gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
. Fortunately, it moved away from the dock, preventing severe damage in the harbor.
Two people were killed by fallen trees in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
.
No tornadoes were reported in the region.
Aftermath
Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power across the region. In the PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
area alone over 500,000 people were without power at the peak of the storm, according to PECO
Exelon
Exelon Corporation is an electricity generating and distributing company headquartered in the Chase Tower in the Chicago Loop area of Chicago. It was created in October, 2000 by the merger of PECO Energy Company and Unicom, of Philadelphia and Chicago respectively. Unicom owned Commonwealth Edison...
and PSE&G
Public Service Electric and Gas Company
Public Service Enterprise Group , commonly known as PSEG, and originally known as the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey and then as the Public Service Electric and Gas Company, is a regulated, publicly owned gas and electric utility company in the state of New Jersey, United States. It is...
. Many customers would remain without power until the weekend. The outage took place just after PECO had set record highs for electricity usage as a result of the extreme heat wave. Power crews from as far away as Chicago were called in to help restore power, after repairing the damage from the previous day's storms. A state of emergency was declared in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- Industry and commerce :The boroughs of Bristol and Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the Northeast Corridor during World War II. Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such "Levittown" designed by...
as a result of the storm.
In northern New Jersey, about 110,000 people were without power at the peak of the storm.
In New England, the damage was equally severe. More than 22,000 customers lost power in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
at the storm's peak. In Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, that number was 30,000.
Railroad service was severely affected; several lines in northern New Jersey and southern New York were completely blocked by debris and the electric trains disrupted by power outages on several lines.
The wind graphic from the SPC shows an extensive trail of wind damage, with over 100 reports in the region.
St. Louis area derecho event (July 19, 2006)
For the third consecutive day, a major derecho took place, albeit further southwest this time, making a direct hit on the St. LouisSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
metropolitan area at about close to 7 p.m. on July 19. In all, 9 storm-related deaths were reported with 7 confirmed tornadoes.
St. Louis area
The derecho moved across the St. Louis area at about 18:45 CDTCentral Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...
(00:45 UTC) that evening. The storms produced destructive straight-line winds across the metropolitan area, along with two isolated F0
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
es. These storms downed many trees atop active power lines, creating the largest electricity outage in the history of the City of St. Louis. More than 1,200,000 residents of the area were left without power amidst a heat wave during an already hot and humid midwestern United States summer. The outage was described by Ameren
Ameren
Ameren Corporation was created December 31, 1997 by the merger of Missouri's Union Electric Company and the neighboring Central Illinois Public Service Company . It is now a holding company for several power companies and energy companies. The company is based in St...
as the worst in the utility's history. The highest winds officially recorded were in Macoupin County, Illinois
Macoupin County, Illinois
Macoupin County is a county located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 47,765, which is a decrease of 2.6% from 49,019 in 2000. The county seat is Carlinville. Macoupin County is an outlying county of the Metro-East region...
, in the northern part of the metropolitan area, where 160 km/h (100 mph) winds were recorded. Most of the region saw hurricane-force wind gusts near 130 km/h (80 mph).
At first, there was little warning that such a storm was going to hit. The moderate risk area was well to the north, and no severe weather was forecast in the area. The derecho surprised a sellout crowd of almost 44,000 St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
fans, packed into the new Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, of MLB...
, to see the Cardinals versus the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
. Winds of about 130 km/h (80 mph) whirled around the St. Louis area, sending the fans running for shelter. The winds knocked out power and broke windows out of the press box
Press box
The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box. In general, newspaper writers sit in this box and write about the on-field event as it unfolds...
. Nearly two minutes after the winds began at 100 mph, they stopped, and it began to rain. In all, about 30 people were injured at the stadium.
The storms went on to hit other cities in Illinois, including Alton
Alton, Illinois
Alton is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 27,865 at the 2010 census. It is a part of the Metro-East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area in Southern Illinois...
, O'Fallon
O'Fallon, Illinois
O'Fallon is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States, and one of the fastest-growing communities in the Metropolitan St. Louis area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 28,281. The city is the third largest city in the Metro-East and Southern Illinois...
, Edwardsville
Edwardsville, Illinois
Edwardsville is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 24,293. It is the county seat of Madison County and is the third oldest city in the State of Illinois. The city was named in honor of Ninian Edwards, then Governor of the Illinois...
, Bethalto
Bethalto, Illinois
Bethalto is a village located in Madison County, Illinois, USA. Bethalto, like the rest of Madison County, is part of the Illinois Metro-East portion of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area...
, Glen Carbon
Glen Carbon, Illinois
Glen Carbon is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States, 23 km northeast of St. Louis. The population was 12,934 at the 2010 census.-History:...
and East St. Louis
East St. Louis, Illinois
East St. Louis is a city located in St. Clair County, Illinois, USA, directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 27,006, less than one-third of its peak of 82,366 in 1950...
. The neighbouring towns of East Alton
East Alton, Illinois
East Alton is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,830 at the 2000 census.-Geography:East Alton is located at ....
, Wood River
Wood River, Illinois
Wood River is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,296 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Wood River is located at ....
, and Roxana
Roxana, Illinois
Roxana is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,547 at the 2000 census. A majority of the land in Roxana is taken up by the Wood River Conoco-Phillips oil refinery; the refinery was built and originally owned by Shell Oil...
house the third largest oil refinery
Oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...
in the United States. When the storms hit, they uprooted nearly 30% of all trees in the area, knocked out power for nearly a week, and left the refineries powerless.
Aftermath
The next day many St. Louisians dealt with a temperature of 97 degrees with a heat index of more than 100. Many people seeking generatorsElectrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
or ice after the storms were faced with long queues at local grocery, hardware stores and gas stations. Many point-of-sale readers and automated banking machines were malfunctioning. Cash was the only usable tender at many locations. Gas shortages also became an issue as well as some food shortages.
After a few days, power began to come back on for most St. Louis citizens. Illinois was entirely up and running by July 27. The Florissant, Missouri
Florissant, Missouri
Florissant is a second-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in northern St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The city has a total population of 52,158 in 2010 census.-History:...
area, which was hardest hit, was finally turned on by July 29, ten days after the storm.
The storms left a heightened awareness within local and state governments that this is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country inside the outer belt of "Tornado Alley
Tornado Alley
Tornado Alley is a colloquial and popular media term that most often refers to the area of the United States where tornadoes are most frequent. Although an official location is not defined, the area between the Rocky Mountains and Appalachian Mountains is usually associated with it.The areas...
"; hence it is not completely safe. Ameren UE was criticized by some for not attending to their needs as quickly as others.
Origin and Demise
The derecho had an unusual directional path. It originated in extreme Southeastern South Dakota. It pushed eastward through the Minneapolis area before starting its southeastern descent. The line rocked through the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa with 50-60 mph winds knocking out power to 127,000 before making another southerly turn. It hit Springfield, Illinois head-on with over 80 mph winds and it prompted a tornado warning although no touchdown was confirmed. The storm then made an odd southwesterly turn which put it on a collision course with St. Louis.After hitting St. Louis, the storm stayed on a southwesterly track through the Ozarks of south-central Missouri. The derecho finally fizzled out in northern Arkansas.
Mississippi-Ohio Valley derecho event (July 21, 2006)
After a day of only scattered severe weather on July 20, another derecho took place on July 21. With 130 km/h (80 mph) winds, the storm battered the same areas that had been affected previously. Ameren estimated that the total number of power outages from both this storm and the July 19 storm exceeded 1 million.St. Louis area
Barely 36 hours after being hit very hard by the July 19 storms, another derecho — albeit still developing at the time — slammed into the St. Louis area late that morning. The storm moved southeastward directly over St. Louis and caused more damage to an already damaged St. Louis. Many of the citizens whose power was restored was taken out again. Missouri Governor Matt BluntMatt Blunt
Matthew Roy Blunt served as the 54th Governor of Missouri from 2005 to 2009. Before his election as governor, Blunt served ten years in the United States Navy, was elected to serve in the Missouri General Assembly in 1998 and as Missouri's Secretary of State in 2000.A Republican, Blunt was elected...
declared St Louis a State of Emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
and sent the National Guard to assist the citizens with shelter, food, supplies, etc.
Heatwave
The derecho that crossed into Ontario and Quebec was the result of a warm and very humid airmass that had plagued much of Central and Eastern CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the vast majority of the continental U.S.
Temperatures in Toronto, Ottawa, Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
and Montreal were approaching 35°C (95°F) for a few days including the day of the storms, while Heat Index
Heat index
The heat index is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity in an attempt to determine the human-perceived equivalent temperature — how hot it feels, termed the felt air temperature. The human body normally cools itself by perspiration, or sweating, which evaporates and carries...
values were exceeding well over 40°C (104°F) in some areas. Temperatures hit 100°F (38°C) at LaGuardia Airport in New York on July 18 and in St. Louis, Missouri on July 19, before storms pummeled those metropolitan areas.
This heat wave was somewhat similar in structure but less deadly than the 1995 Heat Wave which had also spawned several destructive derechos across the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
.
Other Severe storms related to the heat wave
After an initial cooldown period following the mid-July storms, the intense heat built-up again over the Great Lakes region toward the end of July, sparking another series of severe storms, mostly in Canada. Although winds were not as widespread as on the July 17th events, severe tornado-producing storms fired: July 31 in Eastern OntarioEastern Ontario
Eastern Ontario is a subregion of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies in a wedge-shaped area between the Ottawa River and St. Lawrence River...
, August 1 in southern Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
from the upper Laurentians
Laurentian mountains
The Laurentian Mountains are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of 1166 metres at Mont Raoul Blanchard, north east of Quebec City in the Reserve Faunique des Laurentides. The Gatineau, L'Assomption, Lièvre,...
to the Eastern Townships
Eastern Townships
The Eastern Townships is a tourist region and a former administrative region in south-eastern Quebec, lying between the former seigneuries south of the Saint Lawrence River and the United States border. Its northern boundary roughly followed Logan's Line, the geologic boundary between the flat,...
and on August 2 from eastern Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
to southeastern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. On these three days, the meteorological conditions were quite similar to July 17. However, damage was more localized, and on August 2 it was associated with a more classic cold front passage. Nonetheless, there were several dozen tornadoes reported (a record 17 in Ontario alone on August 2 — breaking the single day record (14) for the province in 1985), mostly F0-F2 in strength, and contained within supercell
Supercell
A supercell is a thunderstorm that is characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, continuously-rotating updraft. For this reason, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms...
s that struck the central south cottage country
Cottage country
Cottage country is a common name in Eastern Canada for areas that are popular locations for recreational properties such as cottages and summer homes. The name is often applied locally; that is, any major population centre may have its own popular "cottage country" area...
part of that province. Property insurance claims in Ontario from that storm topped $500,000,000 CAD.
See also
- DerechoDerechoA derecho is a widespread and long-lived, violent convectively induced straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms in the form of a squall line usually taking the form of a bow echo...
- List of derecho events
- Tornadoes of 2006Tornadoes of 2006This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2006. Since the greatest coverage is in the United States, most of these events listed were primarily in the US...
- Heat Wave of 1995 Derecho SeriesHeat Wave of 1995 Derecho SeriesThe heat wave of 1995 derecho series are a series of derechos that occurred from July 11 through July 15, 1995 in the U.S. and Ontario, Canada. This weather event is among one of the least known about but still notable weather events that occurred during the 20th century.- Synopsis :A tremendously...
- similar event that took place over a three-day period