Editing Downburst (section)

===Straight-line winds=== <!-- the page "Thundergusts" links to this section heading -->
{{see also|Derecho}}
'''Straight-line winds''' (also known as '''plough winds''', '''thundergusts''', and '''hurricanes of the prairie''') are very strong winds that can produce damage, demonstrating a lack of the rotational damage pattern associated with tornadoes.<ref>Glossary of Meteorology. [http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?p=1&query=straight&submit=Search Straight-line wind.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415101545/http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/search?p=1&query=straight&submit=Search |date=15 April 2008 }} Retrieved on 1 August 2008.</ref> Straight-line winds are common with the [[gust front]] of a thunderstorm or originate with a downburst from a thunderstorm. These events can cause considerable damage, even in the absence of a tornado. The winds can gust to {{convert|130|mph|m/s|abbr=on|order=flip}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/misc/AbtDerechos/derechofacts.htm|title=Facts About Derechos - Very Damaging Windstorms|website=www.spc.noaa.gov}}</ref> and winds of {{convert|58|mph|m/s|abbr=on|order=flip}} or more can last for more than twenty minutes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.spc.noaa.gov/misc/AbtDerechos/casepages/jun291998page.htm|title = The Corn Belt Derecho of 29 June 1998}}</ref> In the United States, such straight-line wind events are most common during the spring when instability is highest and weather fronts routinely cross the country.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} Straight-line wind events in the form of derechos can take place throughout the eastern half of the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/misc/AbtDerechos/derechofacts.htm#climatology|title=Facts About Derechos - Very Damaging Windstorms|website=www.spc.noaa.gov}}</ref>

Straight-line winds may be damaging to marine interests. Small ships, cutters and sailboats are at risk from this meteorological phenomenon.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}