downbursts, macrobursts, microbursts

http://www.weather.com/storms/severe/news/downbursts-macrobursts-microbursts-tornadoes

Downbursts vs. Tornadoes: Similarities and Differences


There are a few similarities between downbursts and tornadoes:

Both are parented by severe thunderstorms
Both can form rapidly
Both have the potential to produce very high wind speeds, and therefore significant wind damage
However, there are siginificant differences between downbursts and tornadoes:

Tornadoes form within the interaction of warm, moist updrafts pulled higher into the thundercloud while rain-cooled, dry air descends from the thundercloud. Rotation present during this interaction forms a swirling vortex seen as the tornado
Damage patterns from tornadoes show the swirl, or rotating wind patterns that drive the tornado
Downbursts form when super-cooled air within a thundercloud sinks rapidly down towards the ground
When this air makes impact with the ground, it is forced to spread, or fan out, in all directions. The resulting wind damage lacks the distinctive rotating swirl of a tornado, but rather looks like a straight line of wind had raked through the area
According to the National Storm Damage Center, an independent consumer advocacy organization founded to help homeowners affected by violent storms, most homeowners' insurance policies cover damage from storms, no matter whether the damage was caused by a tornado, straight-line winds or hail. Keep this in mind the next time a microburst or a macroburst blows through your area.