Whether it’s a full-fledged derecho, or not, matters little.
The Columbus area is in the crosshairs of a massive storm complex with damaging straight-line winds that could exceed 60 mph, the National Weather Service says.
Central Ohio faces two threats, several hours apart, from a potentially violent weather system advancing into the Midwest.
Isolated thunderstorms are expected to pop up in the heat and humidity this afternoon ahead of the most-worrisome storm front, said Myron Padgett, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Wilmington.
The storms, possible in the Columbus area from 4 to 6 p.m., could turn violent, producing large hail and high winds, Padgett said this morning.
Isolated tornadoes are possible, with the worst of the late-afternoon and early-evening weather expected north of the Columbus area. A flash-flood watch was posted for counties north of Union, Delaware and Licking counties.
Then violent storms will grow more numerous and merge into a complex northwest of Ohio that is expected to race through the Columbus area with damaging winds around midnight or shortly thereafter, Padgett said.
“We’re not sure if it’s going to be a derecho or not, but you’re splitting hairs” when winds could exceed 60 mph, said Jeff Sites, another weather-service meteorologist. SOURCE
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