Friday’s Derecho aftermath. Pull out the chainsaws!
Mommy, it is really hot! When is the air conditioner coming back on?
I will just keep rolling in the grass and eating sticks. That should cool me off and help Mommy clean up at the same time.
They say we had a Derecho Friday night. Sounded like a freight train to us. Aftermath looks like a tornado. Thanks to Wikipedia and The Weather Channel, I now know that a derecho is a widespread and long-lived, violent convectively induced straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms in the form of a squall line usually taking the form of a bow echo. Derechos blow in the direction of movement of their associated storms, similar to a gust front, except that the wind is sustained and generally increases in strength behind the “gust” front. A warm weather phenomenon, derechos occur mostly in summer, especially June and July in the Northern Hemisphere. They can occur at any time of the year and occur as frequently at night as in the daylight hours.
The dogs were fast asleep already in their beds. Storm came through around 11 PM (23:00 hrs). Sofie started going crazy. I opened the kennel doors and lied on the floor with them. All the humans huddled in the bed room and we listened. Then the transformers outside the house blew – one then two. Power gone. The storm past in maybe 30 or 40 minutes. It was to dark to see outside but we figured we had ‘weathered’ the worst.
Morning came and it appeared mostly to be tree damage on the grounds and in the pool for us. My neighbor, sadly, had 2 trees fall, one into each side of their roof, totally destroying the upper level of the home and the deck (that is their yard in the picture). I can live with cleaning up leaves and no power compared to that.
The dogs were very good. When we first came out in the morning I wasn’t thinking, but of course, the gates would all have blown open (actually the wind was so strong that slates blew off the main gate). I ran to the main gate to find both dogs standing there inside the yard line, thinking about what this really meant and should they run. They didn’t, I closed and secured the gates, and life went on.
The current temperature is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) during the days with no end in sight. Because we live on a peninsula, we are the first to lose power and the last to get it back (or so it seems). After losing power for 2 weeks last year, I finally got a gas generator. To run the refrigerator, a light and some fans, I had to drive 30 miles into Baltimore to get gas, but it was worth it. The dogs are hot. They keep wanted to know where the air conditioning is. Everyone is napping a lot. I am worried about the old cat, Muffin, his breathing is poor even in a cool house so this is very stressful on an old system, so I am forcing him to stay down stairs with us in front of the fan.
You never know when a strong wind or a ‘not thinking’ person is going to leave the gate open. That is why the dogs wear name collars with my mobile phone number on them. I guess you just never know when a Derecho is going to blew through.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
DogDaz Zoo 
Lindy MacDuff
July 2, 2012 at 00:42
That was some wicked storm! I am glad to hear you’re all okay and I certainly hope your power gets restored sooner than 2 weeks. Glad you have a generator to get you by in the interim. Good luck with Muffin.
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bumpyroadtobubba
July 2, 2012 at 02:40
Glad you guys are safe – and so lucky your neighbours are too, even though their house wasn’t so lucky!
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dogdaz
July 2, 2012 at 07:51
Thanks – this was a hard one. They are such a nice retired couple from Ecuador and their home was lovely. I guess that is why we have insurance, to help rebuild.
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Genevieve Petrillo
July 2, 2012 at 06:38
OMGoodness! Derecho sounds like a cowboy hat, but that is NO cowboy hat!! What a mess. We’re glad you’re all OK, and we’re very proud of the dogs for being good and not running. This is really not just another DogDaz morning at the zoo! Ugh.
Love and licks and prayers and happy thoughts,
Cupcake
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dogdaz
July 2, 2012 at 07:54
It is the Spanish word for ‘straight.’ Which is the path this storms takes. No hat here for sure. But power just came back after 3 days, so DogDaz is back in business. Thanks for the prayers we always need them 🙂
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mollieandalfie
July 2, 2012 at 08:18
Hi we ‘ve popped over to see you from Long Life Cats and Dogs. We is quite new to bloggie 🙂 What an awful storm, glad to hear that yoooo’s is all safe. In the UK we lives with rain and wind most of the time, we are lucky that we don’t get the awful storms you guy’s get. Thinking of you all and stay safe.
Mollie n Alfie
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dogdaz
July 2, 2012 at 08:33
Mollie n Alfie. We love the UK and know you have lots of wind and rain; we have lots of drought and then really really bad storms. Weather is a crazy thing. Thanks for stopping by and your thoughts – DogDaz
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Basil
July 2, 2012 at 11:40
That sounds really scary!! I am glad you are all ok x
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dogdaz
July 2, 2012 at 11:48
Thanks Basil. And now there are lots of sticks to play with
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Basil
July 2, 2012 at 12:00
Hee hee how positive are you, always looking on the bright side!!! Sounds like it was worth all the noise, although it sounds more like you have trees than sticks to play with!
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zannyro
July 2, 2012 at 12:22
Thanks for posting this…I never did hear a good description of what the heck it was that came through here!!
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dogdaz
July 2, 2012 at 13:47
Never heard of it before this weekend.
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zannyro
July 2, 2012 at 14:28
I hadn’t either!
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Misty Shores Chesapeakes
July 2, 2012 at 17:37
Wow I am so glad everyone is okay. Thank you for the great description, I had never heard of that before and when I saw your title I thought what the heck is a Derecho, some kind of gecko…lol
Try to stay cool and I hope the power is on very soon.
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dogdaz
July 2, 2012 at 18:07
Thanks – Always learning.
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Doggy's Style
July 2, 2012 at 18:14
Glad to know you all are ok.
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dogdaz
July 2, 2012 at 21:37
Thanks Doggy – Hot but in one piece
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Margarita
July 3, 2012 at 18:30
Good to know you’re safe!
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dogdaz
July 3, 2012 at 21:08
Thanks
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Jessica
July 3, 2012 at 19:38
I’m so happy that everyone is safe! Have your animals been through rough weather like this in the past?
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dogdaz
July 3, 2012 at 21:12
We have been without power before, but this heat was very very hard on all. especially Muffin who is 107 years old and I was really worried. Thanks for your concern.
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Bassas Blog
July 4, 2012 at 15:31
Terrible news about your neighbor’s house 😦 I’m relieved to hear that everyone is ok. I didn’t know what a Derecho was.
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dogdaz
July 4, 2012 at 18:36
Thanks – it was new to me too
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