I feel like the general public has gotten pretty savvy when it comes to looking at the radar on their mobile devices. The lighter shades of green indicate lighter rain and the darker colors (like red) indicate heavy rain. However, we can also determine potential winds and even a tornado threat, among other things, just by looking at the radar. One of those is a bow echo.

A bow echo on the radar is shaped like an archer’s bow. When a line of storms begins to “bow out” or protrude ahead, we call that a bow echo. This indicates fast-moving storms and very strong winds. When we see a bow echo, many times winds can be as high as 60 mph or higher.

Bow echoes can lead to serious damage. They can many times lead to derechos and even tornadoes. In May of 1996, a bow echo impacted parts of Wyoming and North Dakota. Winds were clocked at 126 mph! The storms caused extensive damage across the region. The storms overturned boats, damaged mobile homes and even carried debris half a mile away.

If you ever see what looks like a bow echo heading your way (or any storm for that matter), it’s always important to seek shelter, away from windows, and make sure you are able to get weather alerts in the event a watch or warning is issued.

Jennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.