SINCE 1828
wind shear
nounDefinition 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
The final factor at play was strong wind shear, the change in wind speed and direction with height that helps sustain and grow severe thunderstorms. — Chris Bianchi, The Denver Post, "Recapping a wild week of Colorado weather," 17 Aug. 2019 One of the major causes of clear air turbulence is wind shear, which occurs when winds vary in speed or direction with height. — Andrew Freedman, Anchorage Daily News, "Buckle up: Climate change is already contributing to bumpier North Atlantic flights, study finds," 7 Aug. 2019 This is called wind shear and is a primary component of severe weather. — Dave Epstein, BostonGlobe.com, "Yes, these were strong EF-1 tornadoes spawned from a supercell thunderstorm," 24 July 2019 The culprit is wind shear, which is when two huge air masses close to each other are moving at different speeds. — Malcolm Ritter, chicagotribune.com, "‘Clear-air turbulence’ like what likely hit Air Canada flight can strike without warning," 12 July 2019 The recipe for tornadoes always includes heat, humidity and wind shear. — Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "What to know about the F5 tornado that destroyed 90% of a Wisconsin town in 1984," 29 May 2019 Those that form off the coast of Africa must survive wind shear (horizontal winds) to hit the East Coast with full force. — Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, "The Atlantic Ocean, explained," 18 Mar. 2019 Additional variables like wind shear—the variance in wind speed and direction over a short distance—only serve to complicate predictions further. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "How Many Hurricanes Can There Be at Once?," 10 Sep. 2018 Over the next 36 hours, wind shear that could prevent intensification is expected to remain low. — Jenny Staletovich, miamiherald, "Tropical Storm Beryl is forecast to become a hurricane, but that's not expected to last long," 5 July 2018These 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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