3 Radar Characteristics of the 15 July 1995 Northeastern

Strong derechos in the northeastern part of the United States are rare. During the early morning of 15 July 1995, a severe derecho accelerated southeast from Ontario Province in Canada, across New York and into western New England at speeds up to 30 m s (Fig. 1). In its wake it left eight dead and one of the largest tree blowdowns ever observed in the Adirondack Mountains with an estimated million acres of forest damaged (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 1996). Archived WSR-88D data was available from Albany, NY (KENX) and Rome, NY (KRMX) radars, positioned in the direct path of the storm. This radar data provided a unique opportunity to examine the synoptic and mesoscale structure and evolution of this storm, including the role of isolated convection that developed in advance of the main derecho.