Editing Downburst (section)

{{short description|Strong surface-level winds that radiate from a single point}}
{{for|the music album|Downburst (album)}}
{{redirect|Microburst|the networking phenomenon|Micro-bursting (networking)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
[[File:Downburst.jpg|thumb|right|A downburst seen in [[Phoenix, Arizona]].]]
[[File:Microburstnasa.JPG|325px|thumb|Illustration of a microburst at an airport. The air moves in a downward motion until it hits the surface. It then spreads outward in all directions. The wind regime in a microburst is opposite to that of a tornado.]]
{{Weather}}

In [[meteorology]], a '''downburst''' is a strong downward and outward gushing [[wind]] system that emanates from a point source above and blows [[Rotational symmetry|radially]], that is, in straight lines in all directions from the area of impact at surface level. It originates under deep, moist convective conditions like [[cumulus congestus]] or [[cumulonimbus]]. Capable of producing damaging winds, it may sometimes be confused with a [[tornado]], where high-velocity winds circle a central area, and air moves inward and upward. These usually last for seconds to minutes. Downbursts are particularly strong [[Updraft and Downdraft|downdrafts]] within thunderstorms (or deep, moist convection as sometimes downbursts emanate from [[Cumulonimbus cloud|cumulonimbus]] or even [[Cumulus congestus cloud|cumulus congestus]] clouds that are not producing [[lightning]]). Downbursts are most often created by an area of significantly [[precipitation]]-cooled air that, after reaching the surface ([[Subsidence (atmosphere)|subsiding]]), spreads out in all directions producing strong winds. 

'''Dry downbursts''' are associated with [[thunderstorm]]s that exhibit very little rain, while '''wet downbursts''' are created by thunderstorms with significant amounts of precipitation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=US Department of Commerce |first=NOAA |title=Downbursts |url=https://www.weather.gov/ohx/downbursts |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=www.weather.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref> '''Microbursts''' and '''macrobursts''' are downbursts at very small and larger scales, respectively. A rare variety of dry downburst, the ''[[heat burst]]'', is created by vertical [[air current|currents]] on the backside of old [[outflow boundary|outflow boundaries]] and [[squall line]]s where rainfall is lacking. Heat bursts generate significantly higher temperatures due to the lack of rain-cooled air in their formation and compressional heating during descent. 

Downbursts are a topic of notable discussion in [[aviation]], since they create vertical [[wind shear]], which has the potential to be dangerous to [[aviation]], especially during [[landing]] (or [[takeoff]]), where airspeed performance windows are the most narrow. Several fatal and historic [[Aviation accidents and incidents|crashes]] in past decades are attributed to the phenomenon and [[flight crew]] training goes to great lengths on how to properly recognize and recover from a downburst/wind shear event; wind shear recovery, among other adverse weather events, are standard topics across the world in [[flight simulator]] training that flight crews receive and must successfully complete. [[Convective storm detection|Detection]] and [[Nowcasting (meteorology)|nowcasting]] technology was also implemented in much of the world and particularly around major airports, which in many cases actually have wind shear detection equipment on the field. This detection equipment helps [[air traffic controllers]] and pilots make decisions on the safety and feasibility of operating on or in the vicinity of the airport during storms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Downbursts |url=https://www.e-education.psu.edu/meteo3/node/2232 |publisher=The John A. Dutton Institute for Teaching and Learning Excellence, [[Pennsylvania State University]] |access-date=June 15, 2022}}</ref>