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Diagram illustrating the evolution of a gust front during a thunderstorm, showing warm updrafts and cool downdrafts within a large cumulonimbus cloud, with arrows indicating airflow. The right side details four stages: formative, early mature, late mature, and dissipating, each with airflow patterns as the storm progresses. Satellite image of a large dust storm in the Takla Makan Desert, northwestern China.
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Diagram illustrating the evolution of a gust front during a thunderstorm, showing warm updrafts and cool downdrafts within a large cumulonimbus cloud, with arrows indicating airflow. The right side details four stages: formative, early mature, late mature, and dissipating, each with airflow patterns as the storm progresses.
thunderstorm: gust front The development of a gust front from a thunderstorm.

Windstorm

meteorology
Written by
Roger A. Pielke
Emeritus Professor of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins. Author of Mesoscale Meteorological Modeling and others.
Roger A. Pielke
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
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Windstorm, a wind that is strong enough to cause at least light damage to trees and buildings and may or may not be accompanied by precipitation. Wind speeds during a windstorm typically exceed 55 km (34 miles) per hour. Wind damage can be attributed to gusts (short bursts of high-speed winds) or longer periods of stronger sustained winds. Although tornadoes and tropical cyclones also produce wind damage, they are usually classified separately. Windstorms may last...

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