An Observational Study of Derecho-Producing Convective Systems

This study identifies the common large-scale environments associated with the development of derechoproducing convective systems (DCSs) from a large number of events. Patterns are identified using statistical clustering of the 500-mb geopotential heights as guidance. The majority of the events (72%) fall into three main patterns that include a well-defined upstream trough (40%), a ridge (20%), and a zonal, low-amplitude flow (12%), which is identified as an additional warm-season pattern. Consequently, the environmental large-scale patterns idealized in past studies only depict a portion of the full spectrum of the possibilities associated with the development of DCSs.