Home › Glossary › Letter D

Derecho

Weather
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A widespread, long-lived, and fast-moving line of severe thunderstorms that travels hundreds of miles; characterized by intense wind gusts and a distinctive bow-shaped radar signature.

Detailed Definition
A derecho is a widespread, rapidly moving storm system marked by fierce straight-line winds and a long path of damage. Unlike a tornado, its violence extends across broad regions, flattening trees and disrupting communities over many miles. In poetry, a derecho can represent collective shock, sweeping change, or a force that cannot be contained by one household or one body. The technical term lends sharp specificity to poems of storm, aftermath, and survival.
Example
Example in poetry:
A derecho bent the corn flat, and the field woke looking combed by an angry hand; Use derecho to name a widespread straight-line windstorm rather than calling every severe wind a tornado; The derecho crossed three counties in one dark hour, leaving our porch swing facing east; In a poem of aftermath, the derecho can symbolize sudden collective loss because it damages a broad path at once
Additional Notes
A derecho is defined by its long path and sustained, damaging straight-line winds. In poetry, it can suggest sudden force, upheaval, or a landscape altered overnight. Contrast it with a tornado, whose winds rotate.
Other Meanings of “Derecho”
Also Known As
Straight-Line Windstorm Widespread Windstorm
Skip to main content