microburst

noun

mi·​cro·​burst ˈmī-krō-ˌbərst 

: a violent short-lived localized downdraft that creates extreme wind shears at low altitudes and is usually associated with thunderstorms

Did you know?

Credit for the invention of the word microburst is generally given to tornado expert Tetsuya Theodore Fujita. Fujita first described these extremely intense wind patterns in 1974. He noted that microbursts are usually short-lived, lasting only 5 to 15 minutes, but that they are extremely dangerous, especially for aircraft, because they cause sudden unexpected changes in wind direction or speed. Since the mid-1970s, many airports have installed Doppler radar systems to help detect potentially deadly microbursts.

Examples of microburst in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Powerful storm systems known as derechos are often made up of multiple downburst clusters, each containing many smaller downbursts, sometimes called microbursts. —Amal Elawady, The Conversation, 30 Apr. 2025

Many plane crashes were associated with wind shear associated with microbursts near airports. —Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025

Dry conditions beneath the cloud What are microbursts and virga bombs? —Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025

Straight-line winds — not a tornado or microburst — are the likely cause of the damage done to the roof of First United Methodist Church in Elgin by a storm that moved through the area Friday night, the National Weather Service said. —Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for microburst

• interspersed
• reimbursed
• amerced
• cloudburst
• coerced
• conversed
• disbursed
• dispersed
• headfirst
• immersed
• outburst
• rehearsed

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