MeteorologySevere Weather
Microburst
A microburst is a highly localised, intense downdraft associated with mature thunderstorms that causes severe low-level windshear. It presents significant hazards during take-off and landing by causing abrupt, extreme changes to indicated airspeed, groundspeed, and sink rate. Avoidance is the only safe procedure for light aircraft encountering microburst conditions.
Key Points
- •Typically associated with thunderstorm activity and heavy, localised rain shafts.
- •Causes a severe headwind-to-tailwind shear, drastically reducing aircraft lift in a very short time.
- •Produces abrupt and extreme changes to indicated airspeed, groundspeed, and sink rate.
- •Avoidance is the only safe procedure for light aircraft — do not attempt to fly through a microburst.
Exam Relevance
Recognizing the meteorological conditions conducive to microbursts and understanding their threat to aircraft performance is crucial for operational safety.
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