Bad weather in Cadore: what the “downburst” phenomenon is and when it occurs

Gusts of wind at more than 100 km/h hit the Veneto Dolomites area, up to Trentino Alto-Adige and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, causing considerable damage. It is a meteorological phenomenon defined with an Anglo-Saxon term downburst, which translates into strong downward gusts of wind with horizontal motion coming out of the advancing front of the storm. Gusts can reach high speeds, even above 200 km/h.

The downburst, explain the meteorological experts of GEA ETS, is a typically subtropical phenomenon which now occurs frequently also in the Mediterranean area in conjunction with very strong thunderstorms. It can form during a thunderstorm when the downdraft, downdrafts, is very strong and reaches the ground crashing violently on it and causing a “burst”, with the acceleration due to rain or hail. At this point the air expands horizontally at varying speeds and causing powerful gusts of wind.

In this typical phenomenon of the change of season, the hot air rises and at the same time the cold air which is higher up descends like in a corridor, very fast crashing to the ground (hence the sensation of explosion) and then propagating with very violent winds parallel to the soil. So different from a tornado or whirlwind, in which the movement of the wind is circular. These are violent and very dangerous phenomena associated with hail and very violent rainwater discharges.