This study examines the range of environmental parameters associated with derecho-producing convective systems. The focus is on objectively defining the observed "warm season" and "dynamic" patterns previously discussed in the literature, as well as defining other patterns, using multivariate statistical techniques on a large data set of events. This will include a detailed examination of the vertical wind shear profiles and the thermodynamic parameters derived from proximity soundings. If time permits, preliminary numerical simulations of derecho-producing convective systems that are based on the observational results will be presented.