18 Facts About Wind shear

Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal wind shear.

Vertical wind shear is a change in wind speed or direction with a change in altitude.

Horizontal wind shear is a change in wind speed with a change in lateral position for a given altitude.

Wind shear is a microscale meteorological phenomenon occurring over a very small distance, but it can be associated with mesoscale or synoptic scale weather features such as squall lines and cold fronts.

Wind shear has significant effects on the control of an aircraft, and it has been the sole or a contributing cause of many aircraft accidents.

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Wind shear refers to the variation of wind over either horizontal or vertical distances.

Airplane pilots generally regard significant wind shear to be a horizontal change in airspeed of 30 knots for light aircraft, and near 45 knots for airliners at flight altitude.

Low-level wind shear can affect aircraft airspeed during takeoff and landing in disastrous ways, and airliner pilots are trained to avoid all microburst wind shear .

Wind shear is a key factor in the formation of severe thunderstorms.

Directional and speed shear can occur across the axis of stronger tropical waves, as northerly winds precede the wave axis and southeast winds are seen behind the wave axis.

Horizontal wind shear can occur along the local land breeze and sea breeze boundaries.

Severe thunderstorms, which can spawn tornadoes and hailstorms, require wind shear to organize the storm in such a way as to maintain the thunderstorm for a longer period.

When landing, wind shear is a hazard, particularly when the winds are strong.

Wind shear is a hazard for aircraft making steep turns near the ground.

The installation of high-resolution Terminal Doppler Weather Radar stations at many U S airports that are commonly affected by wind shear has further aided the ability of pilots and ground controllers to avoid wind shear conditions.

Wind shear affects sailboats in motion by presenting a different wind speed and direction at different heights along the mast.

Wind shear can have a pronounced effect upon sound propagation in the lower atmosphere, where waves can be "bent" by refraction phenomenon.

Wind shear engineering is a field of engineering devoted to the analysis of wind effects on the natural and built environment.