The Inland Hurricane

This is a poem illustrating a setup and the destructive effects of a derecho—a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is usually quite powerful.

The summer heat is brutal;
People look for ways to beat it.
But while they might not be aware of it
Mother Nature has them covered.

At first it cannot be seen
But Mother Nature has a plan.
She begins to carefully craft
A setup unlike most.

They call it the Ring of Fire
And forecasters hate it.
Because it’s difficult to tell
What Mother Nature is planning.

Although it’s uncertain
Forecasters call for storms anyway.
But those storms are not expected
To be typical summer storms.

Storms fire up in the Midwest
In an unsurprising manner.
But it will soon become apparent
That these storms don’t mess around.

The distinct linear shape
And intensity of the storms
Give us an impression
That these aren’t ordinary storms.

The wind blows like a hurricane
And the dark clouds turn day into night
While the pouring rain makes it hard
To see what is around you.

Trees are down and the power is out
In an area that’s a hundred miles wide.
And some homes are too weak
To survive the wrath of the storms.

It’s as if a gigantic twister
Or an inland hurricane
Tore through the area.
Though some people prefer

That you call it a derecho.
But unlike hurricanes
When you realize you’re in its path
It might be too late to escape.

So when storms are forecast
Just keep in mind that
Whenever conditions are right
The storms may not be so boring.