What is a downburst? These winds can be as destructive as tornadoes − we recreate them to test building designs

What is a downburst? These winds can be as destructive as tornadoes − we recreate them to test building designs

By Amal Elawady, Fahim Ahmed, Mohamed Eissa and Omar Metwally, Florida International University From a distance, a downburst can look like a torrent of heavy rain. But at ground level, its behavior can be far more destructive. An illustration of how the winds of a downburst fan out in open space. In a city with tall buildings, the wind can deflect off buildings, causing damage in unexpected ways. (NASA/Wikimedia Commons) When a downburst’s wind…