BUT, it turns out this usage goes back a long ways, all the way to 1877! From Wikipedia:
A derecho (Spanish: derecho "straight"), is a widespread and long-lived, violent convectively induced straight-line windstorm that is associated with a fast-moving band of severe thunderstorms in the form of a squall line usually taking the form of a bow echo. Derechos blow in the direction of movement of their associated storms, similar to a gust front, except that the wind is sustained and generally increases in strength behind the "gust" front. A warm weather phenomenon, derechos occur mostly in summer, especially June and July in the Northern Hemisphere. They can occur at any time of the year and occur as frequently at night as in the daylight hours.Derecho comes from the Spanish word for "straight". The word was first used in the American Meteorological Journal in 1888 by Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs in a paper describing the phenomenon and based on a significant derecho event that crossed Iowa on 31 July 1877.
He chose "derecho" because "tornado" also is a Spanish word. Apparently the term "derecho" died out for 110 years until the publication of a paper in 1987 that resurrected it and it has become more commonly used to describe long lived convective straight-line wind events.
Origin and Evolution of the Term "Derecho" as a Severe Weather Event
