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.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The city received a little over 2 inches of rain Monday evening in what Boydston called a microburst. 
Mike Jones, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2022 Some San Antoninas got a respite from the relentless summer heat on Monday when a wet microburst passed through the area. Shepard Price, San Antonio Express-News, 9 Aug. 2022 One particularly intense microburst caused tree damage around Alexandria and Landmark. Jeff Halverson, Washington Post, 4 Aug. 2022 Meteorologists called it a microburst—a brief, extreme downdraft within a thunderstorm that hit one small segment of the little peninsula of Catawba Island. Lorraine Boissoneault, The New Yorker, 30 July 2022 Connors said weather service personnel from Maine were headed to the area Tuesday as part an effort to verify whether a tornado, or something else like a microburst, had ripped through his community Monday. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 17 May 2022 Winds in a microburst can reach 100 mph, equaling the force of an F-1 tornado, but without the formation of a funnel cloud. Maria Eberhart, baltimoresun.com, 8 July 2021 Although the Coast Guard said the lift boat capsized during a microburst, a National Weather Service meteorologist said the system was more like an offshore derecho. Kevin Mcgill, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Apr. 2021 Although the Coast Guard said the lift boat capsized during a microburst, a National Weather Service meteorologist said the system was more like an offshore derecho — or straight winds storm. Stacey Plaisance, Star Tribune, 14 Apr. 2021 See More
Mike Jones, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2022 Some San Antoninas got a respite from the relentless summer heat on Monday when a wet microburst passed through the area. Shepard Price, San Antonio Express-News, 9 Aug. 2022 One particularly intense microburst caused tree damage around Alexandria and Landmark. Jeff Halverson, Washington Post, 4 Aug. 2022 Meteorologists called it a microburst—a brief, extreme downdraft within a thunderstorm that hit one small segment of the little peninsula of Catawba Island. Lorraine Boissoneault, The New Yorker, 30 July 2022 Connors said weather service personnel from Maine were headed to the area Tuesday as part an effort to verify whether a tornado, or something else like a microburst, had ripped through his community Monday. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 17 May 2022 Winds in a microburst can reach 100 mph, equaling the force of an F-1 tornado, but without the formation of a funnel cloud. Maria Eberhart, baltimoresun.com, 8 July 2021 Although the Coast Guard said the lift boat capsized during a microburst, a National Weather Service meteorologist said the system was more like an offshore derecho. Kevin Mcgill, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Apr. 2021 Although the Coast Guard said the lift boat capsized during a microburst, a National Weather Service meteorologist said the system was more like an offshore derecho — or straight winds storm. Stacey Plaisance, Star Tribune, 14 Apr. 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
1980, in the meaning defined above