This is a great question because we hear the term very often
during severe weather season. Strong thunderstorms frequently
have strong downdrafts associated with them. A downdraft is
basically a column of sinking air in a thunderstorm. When there
is a particularly strong downdraft, we call it a downburst, or
microburst. These microbursts contain significantly rain-cooled
air and upon impact with the surface, the air moves outward in
all directions. Think of it as a bomb falling from the air with
the shock wave being wind. That shock wave is what we call
straight line winds. Another reason they are called straight
line winds is because the damage created by them is usually very
distinguishable. It is clear that there is no rotational damage
pattern. For instance, a whole line of trees could be knocked
over all in the same direction over a quarter mile as a result
of straight line winds, whereas in a tornado, all the trees
would be uprooted and deposited in various locations. Straight
line winds can blow up to