What is a macro burst? WDRB meteorologist Hannah Strong explains Wednesday’s damage in Kentucky | news

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The National Weather Service is on Thursday investigating damage in Marion, Taylor and Casey counties caused by strong storms on Wednesday night. In a preliminary report, they found wind speeds of 85-90 mph caused by a macroburst.

The particular damage they found was caused by high winds, not a tornado. A macroburst is a strong gust of wind pouring out of a thunderstorm. When that wind hits the ground, it can only go outside, just like what happens when you dump a bucket of water on the sidewalk.

This wind then fans out from the center of the macroburst, dealing damage.

MACROBURST with wind speeds of 85-90 mph. That’s what @NWSLouisville says did damage near Golgotha ​​in Marion County last night. Here’s what that means ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/z0Ndr4k86L

— Hannah Strong (@WxStrong) May 19, 2022

You may have heard our meteorologists use terms like “downburst”, “downdraft” or “microburst”. These are all in the same category of strong winds pouring down from a thunderstorm. This was dubbed a “macroburst” because the wind field, or damage, spread over a relatively large area.

Watch WDRB meteorologist Hannah Strong demonstrate a macro burst in the video above.

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