DOWNBURST

POWER POINT PRESENTATION

BY
CHEPTOYEK ABRAHAM
a.k.a
TREMA
 What is a downburst
Dfn,
Downbursts are powerful, rapidly descending winds that sink from
within a thunderstorm and spread out in all directions when they come in
contact with a ground
Thunderstorm, a storm characterized with thunder and lightning and
typically also heavy rain or hail
 Downburst and microburst
• When a downburst is large and covers an area over 2.5 miles wide or
radiating winds more than 4 kilometers they are known as macrobursts, or
simply just downbursts.
• However, most downbursts are smaller than 2.5 miles in diameter - these are
called microburst or downburst, and they last for a short time.
• Microburst are in two types; dry microburst and wet microburst
Wet microburst, drops an enormous amount of rain along with strong
winds
Dry microburst, typically occur with very little precipitation.
Downburst
What causes downburst
• thunderstorms updrafts are powerful currents of rising air that form the
foundation of a storms, severe weather generally. 
• The updraft carry moist, unstable air up into the atmosphere where it
cools into raindrops and hail, updrafts are too strong and the rain and
hail are held aloft, suspending it to the core of the storm
Causes cont’d
• The updraft begins to weaken when rain and hail become large and
heavy enough and begins to rapidly sink towards the ground, dragging
air along for the ride. In some cases, the air beneath the storm is an
area of low relative humidity, which means that some of the rain will
begin to evaporate in the "dry" air, which further cools it and increases
the speed.
• The result is like a massive falling water balloon that crashes into the
ground beneath it, spreading out in all directions with amazing force 
 Effects of downburst
These winds produce damage similar to a tornado:
• The winds can break fences, tree limbs, break windows,
• hurl all manner of objects out in front of it.
• The rains within a downburst can be torrential, blinding even, but are
often very brief. 
Effects of downburst

These winds produce damage

similar to a tornado:
• The winds can break fences,
tree limbs, break windows,
• hurl all manner of objects
out in front of it.
• The rains within a
downburst can be torrential,
blinding even, but are often
very brief
Effects of downburst on Aviation
 Effects of downburst on Aviation
• Flying through a microburst can rapidly change the performance of the
aircraft and disrupt the normal flight attitude
• A microburst can quickly switch from a tailwind to a headwind
• An aircraft approaching a downburst will first encounter a strong
headwind, which will lead to an increase in indicated airspeed.
as the aircraft passes thorough the downburst, the wind becomes a 
tailwind and the indicated airspeed and lift drop
Cont’d
• The significant downward force of air in the downburst may be
enough to force the aircraft into the ground or at least cause it to lose a
significant amount of height. The subsequent loss of performance, as
the aircraft encounters tailwinds, may cause further loss of height and
be enough to cause the aircraft to crash.
Conclusion
Pilots should be aware of situations where probability of a downburst is
highest
Thank you