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Definition of wind shear
: a radical shift in wind speed and direction that occurs over a very short distance
Examples of wind shear in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Paulette continues to battle wind shear, while jogging west-northwest at 10 mph.
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Joe Mario Pedersen, orlandosentinel.com, "Hurricane center monitors 7 tropical systems, one just off Florida, Tropical Storm Rene gets stronger," 10 Sep. 2020 When then-Tropical Storm Laura passed over Cuba into the Gulf, the high wind shear conditions had receded, leaving nothing but a favorable environment for Laura to develop catastrophic winds and a dangerous storm surge.
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Popular Science, "How hurricanes like Laura get so strong," 31 Aug. 2020 Marco has continued to weaken on Monday as wind shear has increased near the storm.
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Leigh Morgan, al, "Tropical Storm Marco weaker as it nears Louisiana; Laura gets stronger south of Cuba," 24 Aug. 2020 Storms generally lose intensity over land and may encounter storm-weakening wind shear.
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Brett Clarkson, courant.com, "Tropical storm watch issued for Florida Keys as Laura and Marco march toward the Gulf of Mexico," 22 Aug. 2020 Storms generally lose intensity over land and may encounter storm-weakening wind shear.
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Wayne K. Roustan, sun-sentinel.com, "Tropical Storms Laura and Marco on simultaneous marches toward the Gulf of Mexico; Florida mostly out of forecast track," 22 Aug. 2020 Due to wind shear on Saturday, the air that was rising from the fire and the air that was replacing it started to rotate.
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Jordan Culver, USA TODAY, "What is a fire tornado? 'Extreme fire activity' sparks rare weather warning at Loyalton Fire near Reno.," 17 Aug. 2020 That’s because one of the key ingredients for derecho development is strong vertical wind shear.
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Megan Molteni, Wired, "Why Derechos Are So Devilishly Difficult to Predict," 14 Aug. 2020 The image shows wind shear values — how much the wind strengthen with altitude — valid during mid- to late afternoon.
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Jeff Halverson, Washington Post, "‘Enhanced’ risk of severe storms this afternoon and evening with damaging wind threat," 3 Sep. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wind shear.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for wind shear
The first known use of wind shear was in 1941
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