I remember well the morning of July 22, 2003. I was in my car on Interstate 40 heading toward Memphis International Airport. I was scheduled to catch a flight to Greenville, SC, to speak at a friend's funeral. I was at the Appling Road exit when the winds hit. I looked furiously for a funnel cloud, but didn't see one. Debris littered the highway and it was obvious that a major storm had just blown over--very quickly.
Memphis International shut down that morning due to power outages. I drove on to the WREG studios where power was also out and we were operating with a backup generator. The peak wind gust reported that morning from the National Weather Service was 102 mph. That gust was recorded by our weather equipment at Auto Zone Park.
Fast forward to June 12, 2009, last Friday. I was scheduled to do a weather live shot from the FEDEX St. June Golf Classic during our evening newscasts. As I got ready that morning I decided to check the radar since there was a risk of severe weather. Good move! Not only did I see a large area of thunderstorms in northwest Arkansas, heading toward the Mid South, but the Storm Prediction had raised the risk level to moderate.
Just as Todd Demers had been warning on News Channel 3 Daybreak that morning, when I arrived at work, I told my bosses that I thought we were in for something BIG! The radar images were very impressive as the storm moved through Little Rock, and then eventually into our viewing area.
The storm was a classic Derecho, which are more common across the upper Midwest. These storms are long lived wind events which can produce hurricane force winds and isolated tornadoes, just like we saw Bartlett and Olive Branch.
While the 2003 storm was stronger, the June 12th storm packed a whallop! Over 130,000 homes lost power and tree damage was littered over a large part of our viewing area. Tornado damage was also evident in several locations, including Bartlett. Tornados are usually quick spin ups when associated with Derechos. Straight line wind damage is often more widespread versus the more compact destruction of a tornado. Thus, it's accurate to say that a significant Derecho can produce hurricane type damage over a large area.
Most every person I interviewed Saturday in the aftermath of the storm was not aware of the approaching storm. This is why I feel Weather Call is so important. When you sign up for Weather Call we'll call you when severe storms are threatening. You'll have the advance knowlege you need in order to stay safe. You can sign up at our website, www.wreg.com. Or simply call 1-800-260-6695. It's only $6 per year! Register up to 3 different phone numbers or e-mail addresses.
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