Marine Thunderstorm Wind · Atlantic North

The derecho produced damaging wind gusts along the entire shore of Atlantic County and claimed the life of a 48-year-old man. The man drowned on Absecon Bay after the 20-foot skiff he was in capsized. The body was recovered at 5 a.m. EDT early that morning. Two other men who were in the boat survived. The capsized vessel washed ashore in a marsh. Peak wind gusts along marine areas included 67 knots (77 mph) at Point Point, 64 knots (74 mph) in Absecon, 57 knots (66 mph) at the Atlantic City Marina and 56 knots (64 mph) on the Absecon Channel.

A well-organized cluster of thunderstorms with a history of producing widespread damaging winds advanced into a hot, unstable airmass over the Mid Atlantic. This derecho produced widespread, significant wind damage from southern New Jersey southward into the Delmarva during the late evening and overnight of the 29th.

Strong thunderstorm development began across the Midwest and Lower Great Lakes regions during the afternoon of the 29th, with storms initiating across northern Illinois, near Chicago. Strong mid-level winds and an unstable airmass contributed to rapid development as well-organized storms progressed from northern Illinois through Indiana and Ohio. This robust convection continued to track southeastward into an airmass that was even more unstable due to abundant daytime surface heating. Late afternoon temperatures had peaked mainly in the mid to upper 90s with high humidity throughout the Mid Atlantic states, and as the potent thunderstorm cluster progressed from the Great Lakes to the central Appalachians and into the Mid Atlantic by late evening, thunderstorm activity was reinvigorated.

A robust gust front outpaced the main thunderstorm line, producing strong wind gusts as it traveled from the eastern shore of Maryland into Delaware and southern New Jersey. Shortly thereafter, the potent thunderstorm line tracked through the region, with additional damaging wind gusts. One cell in particular around Baltimore, MD experienced rapid intensification and expansion as it raced eastward into northern Delaware and southern New Jersey. Destructive wind gusts, between 65 mph to nearly 90 mph, were measured as this derecho tracked from the Lower Great Lakes to the Mid Atlantic coast.