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View synonyms for microburst

microburst

[ mahy-kruh-burst ]

noun

, Meteorology.
  1. an intense, localized downdraft of air that spreads on the ground, causing rapid changes in wind direction and speed; a localized downburst.


microburst

/ ˈmaɪkrəʊˌbɜːst /

noun

  1. another name for downburst
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

microburst

/ krō-bûrst′ /

  1. A sudden, violent downdraft of air over a small area (less than 16 sq km or 6.24 sq mi) that lasts at least 25 minutes. Microbursts can cause winds with speeds as high as 270 km (167 mi) per hour. They are difficult to detect and predict with standard weather instruments. They are especially hazardous to airplanes during landing or taking off.
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Word History and Origins

Origin of microburst1

First recorded in 1980–85; micro- + burst
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Example Sentences

Her cabin was damaged not by the July 14 storm, but by a subsequent microburst 10 days later that ripped through Wonder Valley, an unincorporated community on the outskirts of Twentynine Palms.

“I guess it was like a microburst or something to that effect, but apparently it was raining harder than usual and then the windows started to buckle and snapped over. These windows on the side just kind of came apart and came out of the building,” Sekula told the news station.

Bunderson’s company’s ground sensors have also measured “megaevents” of more than 15,000 pollen grains per cubic meter within one hour, which he said typically occur as a microburst on the front end of a storm.

Once, ahead of a trip in a boat, its forecast failed to predict an impending microburst—an extreme, hyperlocalized weather system—and I got stuck on the water in 40 knots of wind with two people’s lives in my hands.

From Slate

A “microburst” is a highly localized downburst.

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