The 2022 European derecho was a violent

derecho A ''derecho'' (, from , 'straight') is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is associated with a fast-moving group of Severe weather#Categories, severe thunderstorms known as a mesoscale convective system. Derechos cause Bea ...

which resulted in strong winds on the French island of

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

and in parts of northern Italy, Austria, Slovenia, and the southern

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

on 18 August 2022 which traveled over . The event resulted in 12 fatalities, and at least 116 others were injured.

Meteorological history

Lighting from European August 2022 Derecho

Mesoscale Convective System A mesoscale convective system (MCS) is a complex of thunderstorms that becomes organized on a scale larger than the individual thunderstorms but smaller than extratropical cyclones, and normally persists for several hours or more. A mesoscale conv ...

(MCS) formed during the night from 17 to 18 August over the northern

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

and then rapidly moved towards the northeast, hitting Corsica early in the morning. The

weather radar A weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern w ...

images show that the line of thunderstorms gradually arched and became a bow echo with the descent of the mid-level jet on the western flank of the MCS, producing powerful gusts of wind at the surface. The system affected Northern Italy afterward and Austria, all within a 12-hour period.

Météo-France Météo-France is the official French meteorological administration, also offering services to Andorra and Monaco. It has the powers of the state and can exercise them in relation to meteorology. Météo-France is in charge of observing, study ...

was criticized for only triggering an Orange Vigilance by the morning, after the first reports of wind. Even if, according to some specialists, a

numerical weather prediction Numerical weather prediction (NWP) uses mathematical models of the atmosphere and oceans to weather forecasting, predict the weather based on current weather conditions. Though first attempted in the 1920s, it was not until the advent of comput ...

simulation was predicting such an exceptional event, a spokesman for Météo-France defended the organization by saying that not all did because they do not yet represent these very localized phenomena well enough.

Impact

Corsica

In Corsica, at least five people died and 20 were injured. Four injuries were serious, and 125 water rescues were also required. Winds up to were reported at Marignana, with widespread gusts of ( Sari-d'Orcino) to ( L'Île-Rousse), including in the capital of

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...

. At one point, it was believed that 350 people were missing, but all have since been found alive.

Northern Italy

In Italy, two people were killed by falling trees in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

. At least 41 others were injured in the region. Masonry on the belltower of

St Mark's Basilica The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark (), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica (; ), is the cathedral church of the Patriarchate of Venice; it became the episcopal seat of the Patriarch of Venice in 1807, replacing the earlier cath ...

in Venice was damaged. In

Piombino Piombino is an Italian town and ''comune'' of about 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno (Tuscany). It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma. Ov ...

, the wind spun a

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, giant wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondola ...

out of control, detaching at least one of the empty cabins. Winds gusted as high as .

Austria

In Austria, five people died and 14 were injured, mostly by falling trees. Winds caused waves to get up to , and over 65,000 Austrians lost power.

Slovenia

In Slovenia, at least four people were injured.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:European derecho, 2022 2022 meteorology 2022 natural disasters

Derecho A ''derecho'' (, from , 'straight') is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is associated with a fast-moving group of Severe weather#Categories, severe thunderstorms known as a mesoscale convective system. Derechos cause Bea ...

August 2022 in Austria August 2022 in the Czech Republic August 2022 in France August 2022 in Italy August 2022 in Slovenia Derechos