00:00Most Americans have heard of tornadoes.
00:02Far fewer know about the storm that can cause equal destruction across 500 miles,
00:07often without a single warning siren.
00:09A derecho is a line of severe thunderstorms.
00:12It can produce straight-line winds over 100 miles per hour,
00:16and those winds can stretch across hundreds of miles.
00:19Unlike a tornado, which strikes a narrow path for minutes,
00:23a derecho can devastate multiple states for hours.
00:27AccuWeather forecasters warn that derecho events
00:30could become more common in the spring and summer of 2026,
00:34especially across the Great Plains and Midwest Corridor.
00:37The last major U.S. derecho struck in the summer of 2020,
00:41it caused more than $11 billion in damage.
00:45Across Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana,
00:48the storm flattened crops, snapped power lines,
00:51and destroyed homes across a path nearly 700 miles long.
00:56Meteorologists warn that a single large derecho event this spring
00:59could put 12 states in the path of destructive winds,
01:04triggered by a classic bow-echo thunderstorm complex.
01:07Those winds could rival a Category 2 hurricane,
01:10but without the days of advance warning hurricanes provide.
01:13In a derecho, the warning window can be as short as 15 minutes.
01:17Know the term, know the threat.
01:20Know your shelter plan now.
01:21Before the warning arrives...
01:23The warning arrives...
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