Mechanisms for long-duration extreme winds in a WRF simulation of the 10 August 2020 derecho

The 10 August 2020 Midwestern derecho had winds exceeding 55 m/s with severe intensity winds persisting up to an hour. The Weather Research and Forecast Model (WRF) was run using a 3-km horizontal grid with a 1-km inner nest to better understand mechanisms that might explain the extreme wind behavior. Simulations were sensitive to the microphysics used, with many schemes failing to produce a long-lived system in the area of the observed derecho. However, an unusually realistic simulation was obtained using the Thompson scheme but only when the Kain-Fritsch convective scheme was used. That scheme prevented spurious nocturnal storms that dried the lower troposphere prior to derecho development, causing the derecho to dissipate in western Iowa.

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Temporal Range

  • Begin:  2020-08-10
    End:  2020-08-12

Keywords

Resource Type dataset
Temporal Range Begin 2020-08-10
Temporal Range End 2020-08-12
Temporal Resolution N/A
Bounding Box North Lat N/A
Bounding Box South Lat N/A
Bounding Box West Long N/A
Bounding Box East Long N/A
Spatial Representation N/A
Spatial Resolution N/A
Related Links N/A
Additional Information N/A
Resource Format HDF5/NetCDF4
WMO GRIB2
Standardized Resource Format NetCDF
GRIB
Asset Size 2029300.189 MB
Legal Constraints

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Access Constraints None
Software Implementation Language N/A

Resource Support Name N/A
Resource Support Email datahelp@ucar.edu
Resource Support Organization
Distributor NSF NCAR Geoscience Data Exchange

Metadata Contact Name N/A
Metadata Contact Email datahelp@ucar.edu
Metadata Contact Organization NSF NCAR Geoscience Data Exchange

Author Markus, Nicholas ORCID icon
Gallus, William ORCID icon
Publisher NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research

Publication Date 2026-05-07
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) https://doi.org/10.5065/6C7H-7750
Alternate Identifier d054121
Resource Version N/A
Topic Category climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere
Progress completed
Metadata Date 2026-05-08T03:23:14Z
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.gdex::d054121
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Markus, Nicholas, Gallus, William. (2026). Mechanisms for long-duration extreme winds in a WRF simulation of the 10 August 2020 derecho. NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research. https://doi.org/10.5065/6C7H-7750. Accessed 08 May 2026.

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