Before 1900 • August 1, 1674 - An extraordinarily extreme downburst associated with a bow echo led to the partial collapse of a well-built cathedral from
Utrecht,
Netherlands. Many limestone homes were leveled to the ground and many churches were destroyed across the country. Peak wind gusts were estimated to have reached (~325 km/h; ~200 mph) at the Utrecht cathedral. • July 13, 1890 – A microburst capsized the vessel
Sea Wing on
Lake Pepin between Wisconsin and Minnesota, killing 98 people.
1960s • A particularly violent microburst is a possible alternative explanation to the 1961 sinking of the American school brigantine
Albatross. The ship's captain Dr.
Christopher Sheldon claimed that the ship was hit by a
white squall on the voyage from
Progreso, Yucatán, to
Nassau in the
Bahamas.
1980s-1990s • 1980–1995 –
FAA-supported investigations into microburst morphology and microburst detection and warning systems. Principals:
Ted Fujita,
U. Chicago, John McCarthy and James Wilson,
NCAR, J. Evans and Marilyn M. Wolfson, MIT
Lincoln Laboratory, R Bowles and F Proctor,
NASA). Hundreds of microbursts were detected and studied, many by dual
Doppler weather radar analysis. Several had intensities in excess of . • August 1, 1983 – The strongest microburst recorded at an airport was observed at
Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, near Washington, DC. The wind speeds may have exceeded in this microburst. The peak gust was recorded at 2:11 PM –-7 minutes after
Air Force One, with the President on board, landed on the same runway. • June 11, 1984 - Shortly before midnight, a severe thunderstorm produced an exceptionally severe downburst near
Rowena, South Dakota. Wind gusts were estimated at 160 mph (257 km/h) by
Ted Fujita. • August 2, 1985 -
Delta Flight 191 encountered a microburst while attempting to land at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and subsequently crashed, killing 136 passengers and crew on board the aircraft and one person on the ground. • May 1986 – A microburst
squall with wind speeds of is responsible for capsizing and sinking the
Pride of Baltimore in the
Caribbean Sea, about north of
Puerto Rico. The ship took the lives of her captain and three of her other 11 crew members. • May 13, 1989 — A microburst damaged around 200 helicopters and other aircraft at
Fort Hood, Texas, at an estimated cost of $600 million, despite the aircraft being secured for storm weather. • July 8, 1989 –
Denver Stapleton International Airport. After being alerted by
LLWAS of an imminent encounter with a microburst, Captain Craig Levine initiated a missed approach, taking his
Boeing 737 to full takeoff power, climbing and adding of airspeed. Encountering the microburst at full takeoff power, they lost of altitude and lost of airspeed in about one-half of a minute. This event is a documented "save" of an airplane by a windshear alert system. • August 7, 1994 – Severe thunderstorms produce numerous reports of damaging winds (and large hail) across central, southern, and southeastern Oklahoma. The worst damage occurs in
Prague, where estimated winds of produced widespread damage across town, downed the steeple of a church, partially unroofed the
high school, and damaged to destroyed mobile homes. • July 15, 1995 – A series of microbursts hit northern and eastern
New York State, killing 5 people, injuring 11, and causing nearly a half billion dollars in damages. It was the second
derecho of a
series during mid-July. The storms severely damaged of forest in the
Adirondack Park, necessitating the helicopter rescue of 31 hikers/backpackers stranded in the backcountry due to blocked trails. • October 20, 1995 – A morning
downburst accompanied by
hail caused widespread damage, 35 injuries and 1 death in
Piracicaba,
Brazil, with wind gusts up to 78 mph (126 km/h). • May 21, 1996 – A microburst caused extensive damage and 60 injuries in
Plymouth County, Massachusetts, where winds were clocked at . Brockton, Whitman, and Abington were the hardest hit towns. • On August 14, 1996 a
severe thunderstorm and its accompanying
dry microburst hit the northwest portion of the
Phoenix metropolitan area, ripping off tile roofs and causing $160 million in damage. An
Arizona-record wind gust of was recorded at the
Deer Valley Airport. A few locations had to go without power for several days. • In the early hours of September 7, 1998, a microburst hit the city of
Syracuse, New York. Three people were killed and the area suffered $130 million in damages.
2000s • On July 12, 2002, a microburst hit the town of Quincy, CA, snapping trees and damaging homes in a random pattern. • On March 12, 2006, at approximately 8:10 AM, a severe microburst with winds varying from damaged large portions of
Lawrence, Kansas. Reported damage included downed power lines, stop lights and trees, overturned semi-trailers, collapsed farm silos and damage to roofs. Seventy buildings on the
University of Kansas campus reported damage. In total, over $8 million in damages was estimated. • On May 6, 2008, a microburst made by a LP/HP
supercell hit
Olton, Texas. It did no damage. • On November 16, 2008, an extreme microburst during a severe supercell thunderstorm left a swath of very intense and extensive damage on the suburb of
The Gap in
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Peak wind gusts were measured at 180 km/h. • On February 12, 2009, high winds from a microburst caused a wind gust in
West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. Several damages were reported including roofs and garages collapsing. • On May 2, 2009, a microburst struck the
Dallas Cowboys indoor practice facility in
Irving, Texas, causing the roof to collapse. 12 people were hospitalized. • On July 11, 2009, winds believed to be caused by a microburst uprooted trees and brought down close to 30
utility poles in
Mississauga, Ontario. • On July 21, 2009, a strong thunderstorm produced a probable microburst in the western and southern suburbs of Denver, Colorado, causing extensive damage to trees and property. Cities that were most affected were
Lakewood,
Wheat Ridge, and
Arvada. • In the evening of August 18, 2009, an isolated thunderstorm originated in
Bridgewater when a boundary generated from rain-cooled air associated with the isolated thunderstorm quickly shifted east toward
Newark, New Jersey. Shortly thereafter, the isolated thunderstorm quickly intensified strong-to-severe while in the vicinity of Newark and after the intensification, the isolated severe thunderstorm produced
hail in
Hoboken and
Weehawken. The isolated severe thunderstorm changed direction from moving east to northeast as the thunderstorm approached and shortly affected
Manhattan,
New York City. The isolated severe thunderstorm was responsible for producing thunderstorm wind gust, resulted a possible microburst that downed over few more than 500 trees, damaged several automobiles and spread debris across some streets.
2010s • On February 17, 2010, a microburst caused the capsizing and sinking of the
tall ship Concordia some southeast of
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil in rough seas. All 64 people who were on board (48 students attending school on board, eight teachers and eight crew) were rescued from 5 life rafts by merchant vessels. • In the afternoon of June 24, 2010, there were reports of thunderstorm winds that downed tree limbs with some roads temporarily blocked by fallen tree limbs as the linear cluster of severe thunderstorms impacted across northern New Jersey and southeastern
New York.
Nutley,
Cliffside Park, and
Pompton are locations that reported downed tree limbs. thunderstorm wind was reported in
SUNY Maritime College that knocked down trees and tree limbs when the linear clusters quickly changed into a severe thunderstorm after leaving
The Bronx and central portions of Manhattan counties. thunderstorm gust was reported twice in
LaGuardia Airport and fallen trees destroyed two homes and one car in
College Point. thunderstorm wind was reported in
Whitestone, responsible for downed numerous utility poles, street lamps, trees, at least one collapsed chimney, and damaged several vehicles, including a destroyed mini-van. Besides from thunderstorm wind damage, a
funnel cloud was reported over
Flushing Bay and the severe thunderstorm dumped at least golf ball sized hail in
Queens side of
Throgs Neck Bridge that was reported earlier with at least one car dented. After the aftermath of northeastern Queens, the severe thunderstorm produced thunderstorm gust in
Kings Point and thunderstorm wind that was reported near
Great Neck, resulted a microburst that accompanied dime-to-quarter sized hail and downed numerous large trees, powerlines and uprooted trees. The microburst produced winds exceeding that caused significant damage to homes and automobiles across
Long Island. • In the afternoon of June 24, 2010, a severe thunderstorm resembling characteristics of a
supercell produced a
wet microburst exceed winds and severe hail in the townships of
Drexel Hill,
Springfield, and
Broomall, Pennsylvania in
Delaware County, uprooted trees and damaged homes. • On August 25, 2010, a microburst storm squall hit in the
Lake Elsinore, California had snapped power poles. • On September 1, 2010, a microburst was reported in
West Yellowstone, Montana. The microburst, originally thought to be a
tornado, topped at , and ripped off 90% of the roof at Yellowstone Park Inn and Suites. • On
September 16, 2010, a
macroburst was reported in the
Middle Village and
Forest Hills areas of Queens, New York during an unexpected linear/
bowing segments contained intense thunderstorms that spawned two weak tornadoes. In a city with a population of 9 million people, only one fatality was reported. A tree fell on a Pennsylvania couple's vehicle and killed the wife. • On September 22, 2010, in the
Hegewisch neighborhood of
Chicago, a wet microburst hit with winds upwards of , causing severe localized damage and power outages, including fallen-tree impacts into at least four homes. No fatalities were reported. • On May 27, 2011, in the
Morgantown, West Virginia neighborhood of
Westover, a wet microburst hit with winds in the range. The
National Weather Service, reported that "numerous trees came down in the Westover area. A metal roof from a car dealership was blown off in downtown Morgantown...while trees were uprooted on the campus of
West Virginia University, including a 122-year-old
silver maple which was the fifth oldest tree on the campus. The strong winds knocked down or uprooted trees sporadically eastward until the storm reached the Pleasant Hill Cemetery." • On June 14, 2011 a microburst hit
Norman, Oklahoma (a suburb of
Oklahoma City) with wind speeds of up to and hail up to golf ball size. An inch (2.54 cm) of rain fell within 20 minutes, causing areas of
flash flooding. The storm caused widespread damage to both residences and businesses across the town. Electrical poles were snapped causing power outages to 33,000 residents. • On July 31, 2011, a microburst hit in the
Victorville, California thousands were customers had lost power. • On July 18, 2012, a microburst hit in
Arlington, Massachusetts. Gusts were 70 to 80 mph, with worst damage in about a square mile area. Many trees and utility poles were damaged, tearing power lines from homes. There was one report of a fish blown five blocks from a pond that was near the center of the storm. • On July 20, 2012 a microburst hit
Ferry County, Washington with winds of up to 100 mph. Two people were killed in the storm, and it cost over $2 million in electrical damage, blowing down over 900 miles of power lines. Over 3,000 forested acres were destroyed from the associated remnants of Hurricane Fabio. • On August 30, 2012, a severe microburst hit in
Moreno Valley, California, and winds gust to 90 mph squall line in
Apple Valley, California. • On December 16, 2012, a squall line (possibly a
derecho) produced a downburst with a gust of 177 km/h in Dom Pedrito (
Rio Grande do Sul). • On July 19, 2013, a microburst hit in
Las Vegas, Nevada causing severely knocked out trees and power lines. Wind gusts have been reported to reach 70-80 mph. • On July 21, 2013, a
macroburst hit
Piracicaba,
Brazil, accompanied by large hail and causing damage in almost all the city neighborhoods. Wind gusts reached up to 128.5 km/h (80 mph). At least four people were injured. • On July 3, 2014, in the town of
Cherryville, North Carolina a wet microburst tore apart a portion of a gas station car wash and brought down powerlines and trees. One tree fell on top of a mobile home nearly cutting it in half. The resident was injured when the fallen tree pinned him to the floor. • On July 7, 2014, a microburst hit
Tomball, Texas causing severe localized damage and power outages, including fallen-trees. • On July 26, 2014, a wet microburst hit northern parts of
Phoenix, Arizona felling trees, damaging homes, and causing power outages. • On August 7, 2014 an apparent microburst toppled dozens of boats in the
Dillon Reservoir in
Dillon, Colorado, leaving emergency workers scrambling to get boaters out of the cold water. • On December 20, 2014, many destructive downbursts were produced by a squall line in the state of
Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). An embedded supercell thunderstorm in Porto Alegre, brought destructive wind gusts up to (80 mph; 130 km/h), producing significant damage. The main squall line brought an extremely severe wet microburst that affected Sant'Ana do Livramento. More than 400 homes were damaged, and some of them were completely destroyed, with trees being toppled and power poles snapped. In addition, eight wind turbines were destroyed by estimated extreme gusts up to 250 km/h. • On June 23, 2015, a microburst hit Gloucester County and Camden County, New Jersey, causing major power outages across the region. Many homes and roads were damaged by fallen trees and debris from the storm. • On July 29, 2015, a microburst hit in the
Phelan, California had knocked out power. • On October 31, 2016, an extreme downburst from a collapsing HP supercell produced major damage in the town of Piriapolis (Uruguay). A wind gust of 180 km/h was measured at the town hall private weather station, before it was destroyed by the gust. Besides that, schools, homes, medical centers were severely damaged and hundreds of trees and power poles were downed. • On May 4, 2017, a microburst hit in
Lacey, Washington had uprooted trees and fallen power lines. • On Sept 3, 2017, a microburst hit in
Santa Barbara, California and knocked off numerous trees and many landed on cars with many power lines down. Multiple traffic accidents occurred and 56 people were tossed into the water. A 22-foot sailboat was also overturned and was sinking into the ocean. With the associated from
Tropical Storm Lidia. • On February 2, 2019 a microburst hit in Long Beach, California with winds gusting 50 mph as a winter storm, and several trees fell. • On
March 31, 2019, a very destructive downburst cluster with characteristics of a small derecho, but too small to satisfy the criteria, impacted across a wide and long swath in the
Bara and
Parsa Districts,
Nepal. Occurring at an elevation of
amsl around 18:45 local time, the 30-45 min duration winds flattened many and severely damaged numerous buildings, leading to 28 deaths and hundreds of injuries. • On June 1, 2019, a relatively short-lived MCS with embedded stronger microbursts formed after morning storms on the west side of Michigan intensified and supercells formed west of Detroit. An area on the west side of Novi and another northwest of West Bloomfield (near Green Lake) were hit especially hard. Wind gusts of 70-80 MPH were estimated in few corridors causing numerous branches, and in some cases, whole trees, to snap. Thousands lost power. • On June 10, 2019, a microburst with wind speeds of up to 70 mph hit the DFW metroplex, leaving approximately 220,000 people without electricity in Dallas County, damaging many skyscrapers and other buildings, and knocking down around 200 trees. • On July 6, 2019, a microburst hit
Longmeadow, Massachusetts, downing dozens of trees, damaging cars, and houses. • On August 20, 2019, a microburst hit in the
Sevierville, Tennessee area, toppling trees and causing power outages to parts of nearby
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
2020s • On July 10, 2020, a microburst hit in Eastern Germany. • On September 28, 2021, a severe convective pulse storm impacted the municipality of Rondonópolis (state of Mato Grosso), in Brazil. 9 power poles were downed. • On January 17, 2022, a very severe wet downburst produced by a HP supercell, left a wide swath of damage in the municipality of Guaíba (
Rio Grande do Sul state),
Brazil. Several masonry houses were destroyed and a large church collapsed. Hundreds of trees were downed and dozens of power poles were destroyed. The upper floors and all the windows of a large school were completely destroyed and the school was permanently shutdown months later. Wind gusts estimated at ≥150 km/h. • On June 3, 2022, a microburst caused extensive crop damage in
Wenona,
North Carolina. • On June 21, 2023, a severe thunderstorm in the Greater Houston area resulted in a powerful downburst. The storm was part of a larger
tornado outbreak sequence that occurred from June 20-26, 2023. A record breaking wind gust of 97 mph (156 km/h) was observed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, surpassing the previous record of 82 mph (132 km/h) recorded during
Hurricane Ike in 2008. The aftermath left approximately 324,000 customers without power and caused extensive damage to CenterPoint Energy's equipment and infrastructure. The storm caused significant damage to buildings, with at least 243 homes damaged. The storm was strong enough to flip a small plane and push another off the tarmac at
Hooks Airport in northwest
Harris County. • On July 24, 2023, a microburst hit
La Chaux-de-Fonds in Western Switzerland with wind gusts of up to 135 mph (217 km/h), caused by a collapsing supercell. One person was killed and 40 people were injured in the event. Roofs were blown off, high-voltage pylons were knocked down and a train derailed. The 135 mph wind gust is one of the strongest ever measured in inhabited areas in Switzerland. • On November 15, 2023, a heavy downburst impacts Giruá (
Rio Grande do Sul). Many schools were severely damaged. 57 injured and 1 fatality recorded. • On February 13, 2024, a bow-echo produced a very severe downburst over
Mirboo North (Victoria), in
Australia, during the afternoon after an intense heatwave. Damage up to IF1.5 (≥180 km/h) intensity was documented. • On June 15, 2024, a macroburst produced heavy damage over São Luiz Gonzaga (
Rio Grande do Sul), severely damaging many schools, medical centers, hospitals and many houses. Dozens of trees and power poles were downed. • On October 12, 2024, a violent downburst impacted the municipality of
Três Ranchos (state of
Goiás),
Brazil. There was significant damage to dozens of masonry houses and a masonry school was partially destroyed. Health centers were also damaged. One brick house collapsed and a gymnasium was completely destroyed. Additionally, many trees and power poles were downed. • On May 28, 2025, a long track microburst impacted central
Austin, Texas, killing one person and leaving 180,000 without power. == See also ==