windstormArticle Free Pass windstorm, a wind that is strong
enough to cause at least light damage to trees and buildings and
may or may not be accompanied by precipitation. Wind speeds
during a windstorm typically exceed 55 km (34 miles) per hour.
Wind damage can be attributed to gusts (short bursts of high-
speed winds) or longer periods of stronger sustained winds.
Although tornadoes and tropical cyclones also produce wind
damage, they are usually classified separately. Windstorms may
last for just a few minutes when caused by downbursts from
thunderstorms, or they may last for hours (and even several
days) when they result from large-scale weather systems. A
windstorm that travels in a straight line and is caused by the
gust front (the boundary between descending cold air and warm
air at the surface) of an approaching thunderstorm is called a
derecho. Gustavus Hinrichs, a physics professor from the
University of Iowa and founder of the Iowa Weather Service,
applied the term derecho—a Spanish word that means